DC and Dillwg present, Ski School
by David Carner
Summary: What happens when a recently single Chuck Bartowski meets ski instructor Sarah Walker at a ski slope days before Christmas, with Dillwg plotting and DC writing? You know. Part of the 2019 Christmas Fic Challenge. Rated DBF DIE-A-BETIS BY FLUFF. Strap up, it's Christmas and Fluff, DC style.
1. Ch 1, Destination Christmas

A/N: So after Zettel gave me an idea for Small Town, Dillwg PM'd me about an idea for ski school. We went back and forth about it, and I decided I would write it once I was done with Small Town. The MySongStory wanted to do the 2019 Christmas fic challenge and Dillwg and I got to talking about this for a Christmas fic. The next thing I know he's written over 8000 words and sent it to me with the note, he's turning it over to me. So, I've taken it, tweaked parts, but this first chapter is basically all him, hence the name DC and Dillwg present. We hope you enjoy it, thank you Dillwg for the great idea, amazing outline, and for always supporting whatever I right. Also thank you MySongStory for this year's challenge and some of the technical assistance in this fic. (We're shooting to make sure I don't have any more Christmas traditions screwups this year.) (Fic takes place present day) This will be stupid fluffy, just in case you were wondering, and land speed records may be set for getting them together.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Christmas, Chuck, fluff, or a pair of skis.

* * *

_Thanksgiving_

"So what did you want to see me about before we have dinner with your sister and Devon?" Jill asked, watching Chuck wipe his hands on his pants.

"Since we've gotten back together after college, I feel things, you know, between us," he said, motioning to the two of them. "Are good," Chuck began.

"Are we gonna go through that again, I said I was sorry for cheating on you, Chuck," Jill replied, looking slightly irritated.

"No, we're not going through that again," Chuck said quickly. "In fact, it's forgiven, I've moved on. _WE__'VE _moved on, and I thought it was time, we move together."

Jill went a little pale. "What are you saying?"

"I'd like you to move in with me, and when the lease runs out in February, we find a house together, and begin….well, our future." Jill stared at him. "Jill?"

She swallowed and looked away a moment. She blew out a breath and turned back to him. "Chuck," she began.

"No," he said softly.

"Look, Chuck, I really like you, and we have fun, but…moving in? What's next, marriage?"

"Yeah," he replied. "That's kinda how it works…"

"No," Jill said shaking her head. "I-I…I can't Chuck. I don't want that future, I don't want kids and all that."

"Who said anything about kids?"

"Chuck, come on, it's you," she replied with a soft smile. "I know you, and what you'll want." She crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling. "I was hoping to get through Valentine's Day without this happening. I don't need my parents on my case."

"What are you talking about?" Chuck asked.

Jill gave him a look. "Chuck, you need to be real. The past couple of years I've been a distraction from your work." Chuck started to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't. Don't deny it, because I have been for you, and you have been for me." He stood there, stunned. "Chuck, we didn't want to hear things from our family, so we made this work, neither looking too deep at what was there….or not there. I don't want to hurt you, I truly care about you, but moving in, marriage, family….no, Chuck. I'm sorry."

Chuck looked down at the ground and stuck his hands in his pockets. "We're breaking up, aren't we?"

Jill turned toward Ellie's apartment and then back to Chuck. "We both know she really doesn't like me."

"Jill," Chuck began.

"Goodbye, Chuck," she said, as she kissed him on the cheek. "Do you want me to come by and get all my things or do you want to pack them up for me and I get the boxes."

"Whatever you want," he said, defeated. She gave him a hug and left, him standing in his doorway watching her go.

Ellie's door opened and she saw Jill walking away. She turned toward Chuck and saw his face. "Chuck, what happened?"

}o{

_December 22nd_

_It__'s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year _was playing in Devon and Ellie's apartment. Chuck was sitting on the couch, trying to find a reason not to go with them. He knew they wanted this family time. He knew they wanted him with them, but he was still depressed. Jill had broken his heart, again, but at least this time she was honest, and she hadn't been cheating like she had been in Stanford. Then, he had buried himself into his degree, now….now he was going to go skiing with Ellie and Awesome. He'd probably die. He thought about that for a second, his heart couldn't hurt if he was dead. He sighed. Jill was right about one thing, they had been a distraction for each other. Chuck realized he was lonely, but not for Jill, just for…someone. He wasn't mad or upset with her, just with himself for not realizing what was going on, and getting lost in his dream. Maybe this trip was what he needed, to just meet someone, nothing serious, just…to meet someone. Chuck was lost in those thoughts when Awesome walked into the room.

"C'mon, bro," Devon boomed out with his typically overly enthusiastic tone. "Reports out of Squaw Valley are calling for record levels of powder. It's going to be…"

"Awesome?" Chuck filled in, although rather unenthusiastically.

"Well, I was going to go with epic," Devon responded with his trademark toothy smile. "But awesome works pretty good too."

"So, what you are saying, Captain, is that there's going to be tons of snow up there, right?" Chuck said, causing Devon to keep grinning, on the assumption that he had converted Chuck's opinion. "So, that means that when I fall every ten feet, I'm going to be covered from head to toe in snow." Devon's grin dimmed noticeably.

"Ok, work with me here, Devon," Chuck continued undaunted. "At some point, likely when I most look like the California version of the Abominable Snowman, we're going to head inside of some building."

"The lodge," Devon offered up, although not as excited as he had been a few moments earlier.

"The lodge. Thank you, Captain," Chuck resumed. "And presumably this lodge will be significantly warmer than the ski slopes. Am I right again?"

Chuck resumed without waiting for any response from Devon. "Now, by applying the second law of thermodynamics, we know that this snow will melt when I go inside of the lodge. At that point, everything that I am wearing will be soaked. At some point after that, even if it just to run outside to Ellie's Mustang to ride home, the melted snow will turn to ice, creating a giant Chucksicle."

"Chuck," Ellie groaned out. "Devon and I have worked shifts for three straight weeks in order to get the time off for this Christmas trip. And I know that you have been working crazy hours as well, because that's what you do when you sulk," she added with a significant look. "I get it that you would prefer to stay here in Burbank, and hide from people." Chuck winced a bit at that one. "But, Devon and I are heading up to the Woodcomb's chalet for Christmas. Give me one good reason why you would refuse to share Christmas with me."

Chuck was sunk, and he knew it. He didn't have anything against Squaw Valley, or the Lake Tahoe area in general. It just meant going outside of his comfort zone, which admittedly, only extended as far as the living room the three of them shared for the past several years at Christmas. Jill had even said she felt like an intruder, and had stayed away. It was just that he liked their Christmas traditions: making some eggnog and a big Christmas dinner; sitting on the 'comfort zone' sofa all day while watching Twilight Zone and Mystery Science Theatre marathons. It wasn't much, and it certainly didn't qualify as traditional. But it was their tradition.

"Besides," Ellie continued, although in a less confrontational tone than a moment earlier, "you never know. You might actually enjoy skiing."

Chuck gave her the flattest look in his repertoire. "El, I love you to bits. But seriously? I saw the photos from the last time you and Devon went on a ski trip. The top of the mountain with a little rope strung around with an opening with a sign on each side. One side reading 'Expert Terrain-ski at your own risk' and the sign on the other side reading 'You or your heirs will be responsible for any search and recovery costs'. Your heirs, El."

"Bro, those signs were way over-hyping the danger there. It wasn't even that challenging a slope," Devon spoke up again, while Ellie sent him a 'you are so not helping the cause here' look. "Besides, we won't take you up on any black diamond trails. We'll keep it easy. And your sister is right, like she always is, you won't know how much you will enjoy skiing until you give it a shot."

Chuck let out a quiet groan as he realized that there was no way that he was going to win this one. Ellie and Devon were set on a destination Christmas, so unless he wanted to both disappoint the only family he had left as well as spend Christmas by himself, he was going to go with them. But not on the ski slopes. That was not happening. There was no way. None.

}o{

Sarah let out a quiet groan, accompanied by an eye roll as she watched the award ceremony for the World Cup race in Val d'Isere, France. Bryce had managed to get on to the medal platform with a bronze, and had some young woman wrapped around him staring at him with a fawning look. Sarah switched off the TV before she gave herself a concussion from all the eyerolls.

She didn't miss the grind of it all. The punishment that her body had taken as she had hurtled downhill as fast as she could go-which was usually the fastest of anyone on the mountain. Nor did she miss the grueling training regimen that not only punished her body, but also kept her away from her mom for the majority of the year. For eleven years, since the age of fifteen when she joined the Junior Olympic Team, she had been pushing herself and pushing herself. She glanced back at the darkened TV. She _DEFINITELY_ didn't miss dealing with Bryce and his ever wandering eyes and more-often-than-not, his hands.

They had been the "it" couple for Team USA Skiing, but the reality didn't live up to the PR hype that the Association had kept generating. Between the year round conditioning and travel from one continent to the next on the World Cup Tour each year, it was next to impossible to have a relationship if it wasn't with someone else on the Tour. But "dating" Bryce Larkin had the added difficulties of his penchant for flirting with any female with a pulse, as well as his ego getting bent out of shape whenever she beat him in training run times, which was often, or on medal podium placement which was pretty much constant. She couldn't help the grin that covered her face.

But after getting dual golds in downhill and GS at the last Olympics, Sarah had begun the process of walking away from the sport-or at least the World Cup Tour part of it. She had tried to stay on the tour for the next year, but she knew she wasn't going to compete in 2022, and someone else deserved her spot, so she stepped away, to the dismay of many, hearing constantly how she was too young to leave the sport.

She still loved to ski, loved the rush of racing down the steep slopes on the razor's edge of control. But she was content with racing against the mountain now, rather than the clock and opponents. There was freedom in that, the freedom in which had made her begin to ski.

She had made the decision that she would retire from competition after the St. Anton event was rescheduled in Cortina d'Ampezzo…which she had won. Bryce hadn't shown up for the press conference. Sarah hadn't been surprised. Their relationship had been one of convenience, and it wouldn't be convenient to him to be tied down to a girlfriend who stayed in one place while he traveled the circuit. Truth be told, it wouldn't have been convenient for her to try to keep tabs on Bryce to make sure that he wasn't constantly cheating on her when she wasn't on Tour.

But Sarah would still watch some of the races, seeing fewer and fewer familiar faces among the competitors, as well as some of the most beautiful spots on Earth that she had visited numerous times, but never gotten to actually visit. Whenever she saw the races in Val d'Isere, or Turin, Italy or Wengen, Switzerland, Sarah thought that someday she would like to go back there to ski just for fun, for personal pleasure.

But when the tour would get to Kitzbuhel, Austria, Sarah would get envious of the racers. The Hahnnenkamm was always Sarah's personal favorite race. Every race had been important to her. Her coach, Langston Graham, had nurtured her competitive spirit to always go for the gold medal. But there was always something different about the Hahnnenkamm, something that really connected Sarah to the mountain. She had never lost in Kitzbuhel. It was as though the mountain itself wouldn't stand for it.

"Pretty boy made it up on the podium stand again?"

Sarah didn't even turn. "Why is it that I was the one who dated him, and yet I'm the only one around here who will still call Bryce by his actual name?"

"Just because you like to keep it refined and professional, doesn't mean that the rest of us have to," Zondra Rizzo replied. She and Sarah had been close friends on the World Cup circuit. Then came a race in Calgary when a freak gust of wind had shot up the mountain just as Zondra was going over the big bump on the course. The wind had knocked her sideways. The resulting off-balance collision with the side of the mountain had knocked her out, not to mention an ACL tear, MCL tear, a fractured vertebrae and three cracked ribs. Zondra had undergone surgeries and extensive rehab. As a result, she was still able to ski, but her days competing on the Tour were over.

Sarah found it somewhat amusing, and a lot endearing, that her friends in the community were harsher on Bryce than she was, and yet she had been the one in the relationship with him. She didn't even have any animosity towards him once she had taken stock of their situation and realized that their relationship had been built on convenience rather than passion or even compassion.

"While I would love to sit here and listen to the latest trash talk you have come up with for Bryce, I've got a class to go teach," Sarah said with a smile as she gathered her jacket, knit cap and gloves.

"How is it that you can get so much enjoyment out of teaching these little three, four and five year old kids when less than a year ago you were kicking ass and taking names at the top of the FIS leaderboard on Tour?" Sarah shook her head. She and Zondra had had this conversation enough times for Sarah to know that neither was going to convert the other-but that didn't dissuade Zondra from still trying from time to time.

}o{

As the car rolled to a stop, Chuck said a silent prayer of thanks. It had been a 400 mile drive with little in the way of stopping. Their one stop, other than bathroom breaks, Awesome believed in packing snacks and drinks for his road trips, had been at a little town about two hours from their destination. There, snow chains had been put on their tires, for five bucks a tire. Chuck had wanted to do it himself, just to get a break from the car, but Awesome told him they had twenty dollars to spare.

Chuck let out a long groan as he stretched to his full height as he climbed out of the Mustang. While Ellie's car was fun for driving around Southern California with the top down on a sunny day, it was not the optimal choice for a long distance road trip for a guy who topped the charts at 6'3". After his neck cracked a few more times than was likely healthy for his future, Chuck took stock of the house, strike that, chalet, that Devon's parents had loaned them for the holiday trip. One of Devon's brothers was receiving an award from UCLA, so Woody and Honey had elected to go to LA for the holiday.

If the chalet had been the primary home for the Woodcombs, it would have been impressive. But for an occasional ski trip get away house? It reminded Chuck again how lucky Elllie was that her future husband was as down to earth as he was, between the facts that he was not only born with a platinum spoon in his mouth, but he routinely had people's hearts in his hands as he saved their lives.

"So, sis, level with me here," Chuck said as Devon headed inside with most of their baggage. The fact that Devon could handle eight bags without the least bit of awkwardness as he crossed snow covered ground made Chuck want to be a little peevish, but Devon was too, well too awesome to think poorly of, especially unfairly. "Is the reason for our destination Christmas based on the fact that Honey Woodcomb is going to be in LA over the holiday? Hmm?"

"Pure coincidence," Ellie replied with the most angelic face she could muster.

Chuck let out a laugh at his sister's poor poker face, but he didn't blame her. Honey was intense where Chuck was concerned, and he wasn't the one that would ultimately be marrying into the family. As he shouldered his laptop back, Chuck took note of the natural beauty of the area. Cold, yet beautiful. Now all he had to do was try once more to figure out how to keep himself occupied for ten days with activities that didn't risk grievous bodily injury. Devon was a truly great guy, but he refused to accept the fact that the words "hand eye coordination" and "Chuck Bartowski" were mutually exclusive concepts.

Chuck sighed. He was here in this beautiful destination, it was Christmas, and all he was doing was thinking about what could go wrong. There was a lot that could go right. He chuckled and shook his head. It wasn't like he was going to find the love of his life here and have some Christmas miracle. That stuff only happened in sappy Hallmark movies.

"Chuck!" Ellie yelled.

Chuck put on his best smile, and made himself think positive thoughts. He was going to enjoy this trip….if it killed him.

* * *

A/N: Oh….oh my…it's like I put the curse of Christmas on Chuck. More soon.


	2. Ch 2, Class Is In Session

A/N: Sarah and Chuck's meet happens next. BTW, bonus points if you should catch any callouts to any other fic in this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

Sarah made her way from the Base Lodge over to Tucker Run to cover a ski school class for Zondra. She snorted at the name. Michael Tucker, manager of the Base Lodge and the man after whom the run was named, had been an amazing competitive skier back in the day. Today, Michael Tucker looked like a guy who would be better suited being a spokesperson for _Subway_. Having discovered the name of what had to be the easiest trail she had ever seen was named after him, she was more than a little nervous. Big Mike, as everyone called him, assured her it was fine; it was even, in fact, his idea. People didn't remember Mike Tucker, former competitive skier, but they did remember the name of the trail their kids first learned to ski on.

She chuckled to herself as she made her way to the class. As much as Zondra hated teaching ski school, Sarah loved it. Watching the little faces of her students light up with joy when they learned how to turn and stop going down a bunny slope made Sarah feel content. The world of competitive skiing had been filled with people looking for a way to get into the spotlight; people looking to lie, cheat, and steal to try to get the smallest of advantages on the course. And then there was Bryce, who was just in it for himself, no matter how much Sarah had tried to make them a real couple.

These little kids, though… they were unjaded. She sometimes thought of them as little angels, probably because of their penchant for making snow angels. There was the occasional kid who desperately didn't want to be there, or one who threw a tantrum if the slightest thing went wrong, but they were the very small minority. The overwhelming majority were overwhelmingly happy to learn something new. But as happy as they were to show her what they had learned, the excitement level was off that charts when they got to show off to their parents that they knew how to ski. That was the best part. Most of the parents were so shocked, so happy, and even the kids who didn't do well, their parents were just as happy and joyous. She chuckled; she called them little kids, but some were teens, the same age as she had been when she was competitive skiing.

Sarah reached into her go-bag, a small backpack that contained her ski patrol medical kit, avalanche SAR kit, as well as some protein bars and her thermos filled with hot chocolate. She reached past all of that to a small iPad that had the information on her latest class of students.

"Ok, call out when you hear your name. Curtis?"

"Here," said the young man in front, who might have been wearing a Denver Broncos jacket. There was a smudge or stain, or something on it to where you couldn't be exactly sure what the logo was. Sarah grinned at him.

"Megan?"

"Here," she said shyly. Sarah flashed her a smile and received a toothy grin in return.

"Lisa?"

"Here," said the blond-headed girl. Sarah grinned at her.

"Bridget?"

"Here," the younger girl replied. Sarah saw she had a book in her hand. _Skiing for dummies. _Bridget looked at Sarah. "I was trying to learn all I could."

"Nothing wrong with that," Sarah replied. The young lady beamed at her.

"Martie?"

"Here," a little girl in a pink Barbie jacket and matching skis said. Sarah smiled at her.

"Fred?"

"Here," said a young boy that was looking at her in awe. Sarah raised an eyebrow and he blushed.

"Lizzie?"

"Here" replied a dark-haired girl with light blue eyes, who looked to be the oldest of the group. Sarah smiled at her.

"And finally, Chuck?" Sarah looked up from the list and saw seven kids ranging from 5 to 16 in front of her. "Chuck?" Student eight was missing. "Any of you guys know who Chuck is?" She began to worry… had the little boy wandered off and fallen down one of the slopes?

"Here." She heard a voice call out, a voice that most definitely wasn't a child. "Here. I'm coming," Chuck called out as he tried to shuffle across the relatively flat snow pack. And that was when he crashed into the snow, and the kids began to laugh. Sarah wasn't sure what she found more surprising: That Chuck was around her age and 6'3"; or that he managed to fall on the flat ground, nearly taking out a rack set up near the Lodge to hold skis and snowboards. Fortunately for him, given the early hour, the rack was mostly empty.

Sarah turned to her class. "I need you to stay here, I'm going to go help him."

"Is that your boyfriend?" Fred asked, disappointment filling his voice.

"No, I've never met him until… well… now," Sarah began. "But he, like all of you, is a new skier, and we're going to treat him with the same respect that I would expect you to treat each other with? Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," came all the voices as one.

"Do you need any help with him?" Lizzie asked with a grin.

"Pretty sure I can handle him," Sarah replied with a smile.

She ran across the snow to the man trying to get to his feet. As she assisted him, she made sure she was facing him and not the kids. "What are you doing?" she asked as softly as possible.

"Trying to get to my lesson on time," he replied. "But, as you can see, I keep falling and that keeps making me later and later." He dusted snow off himself. "Thanks," he said when he was finally upright. "I've been trying to get here for a half an hour now."

"Where did you start out from?" Sarah asked, her eyes wide.

"The lodge," Chuck replied. Sarah lips and jaws trembled. The lodge was around 100 yards away from where they were. "It's okay, you can laugh, it's always great when the instructor laughs at you before you even start." Sarah lost it and began to laugh out loud. "I mean I said it was okay, I just wasn't aware all of this was going to be a part of it." She tried to control herself, and ended up taking a few deep breaths. "I'm Chuck, your student."

"You do know this is a class typically for children?" Sarah asked.

"I thought this was for beginners," Chuck said, confused. "The man at the desk told me this was for those that had no experience…" Chuck trailed off. "Come to think of it, he did seem like he was quite amused with himself.

"About your height, well-built?" Sarah asked.

"And a jaw of stone that might have been carved by Michelangelo himself?" Sarah snorted at that. "Yeah."

"Why was he at the front desk?" Sarah wondered out loud.

"So, he pranked me?" Chuck asked. Sarah nodded. "You don't want to teach me?"

"No, it's just… well," she cleared her throat. "Some would be embarrassed to be in this class. We could find you one for adults."

"Oh," Chuck replied with a shrug. "I have absolutely no skill as you can see, and we're all beginners, so what does it matter if a child can do better than I?"

She studied him for a second and a slow grin crossed her face. "God, there are _so_ many people I wish would have that attitude."

Chuck shrugged. "I'm just telling the truth."

"Sarah Walker," she said. "I would offer you my hand but-"

"No, no," Chuck cut in. "I get it. I'd have to take off my glove, take my hand off my poles, and there's a great chance that I'd hit the ground again."

"Come on, let's go meet your classmates," Sarah said, steadying him with her hand as they walked. Sarah led him over to the classmates, made introductions, and then herded her class over to the bottom of the Tucker trail. Forming them into a line, Sarah showed the class how to walk up a hill in skis, by facing parallel to the mountain and moving one ski at a time. Once each child, including the tall overgrown one, got about eight to ten feet up from the base of the run, she had them turn one by one and ski to the bottom. And, somehow, Chuck managed to fall again. She couldn't help but smack her palm to her forehead.

"I'm okay," he called out.

"He's like Joe," Megan said, shaking her head. "He needs Barbie to go save him."

"I think he's doing it on purpose to get our instructor to help him," Fred muttered.

"Grow up," Lizze snapped at him.

"Children," Sarah all but growled.

"Yes Ma'am," they all said at once.

She turned and went back to Chuck, helping him up again.

"I'm sorry," he began.

"Are you trying?" she asked, trying not to laugh, but her eyes were twinkling.

"I am," Chuck said. "I am trying to ski." He paused a moment. "Maybe I should switch to trying to fall down?" Sarah laughed, got him straight, and sent him the rest of the way down. When he got there, he bent down to speak with Megan, the youngest. "Hey, can you help a guy out? You're a natural. What's your secret to staying upright?"

Sarah had to bite back a grin as Megan leaned her head to one side, taking in her inordinately tall classmate. "You just don't fall down." Little Megan was serious, causing Chuck to laugh and thank her for the advice.

Sarah assembled her troops a little higher up the gentlest of gentle slopes, and had to fight herself to hold back the smile when Chuck asked about the 'serious grade' on the slope. She turned toward the group and showed them how to make a 'slice of pizza' by creating a wedge with their skis to slow themselves down, and 'french fries' when the skis were side by side to speed up. Only a couple of the kids fell… including Chuck, who fell twice. He managed to get himself up quickly the first time, and Lizzie helped him the second time.

She sized up the crew and made her decision. It was time. "We're taking the tow bar up the slope," she announced. Terror was in every eye that looked at her, but slowly they all turned toward one person.

"What?" Chuck asked, everyone looking at him.

Taking the tow bar to the top of the bunny slope was a disaster. Two of the kids panicked on each attempt, but the worst… that was her 6'3" beginner. Chuck not only had to sit back so far to get the bar behind his butt that he was nearly sitting on the tails of his skis, but he had his legs locked in place so hard that Sarah could see his quadriceps shaking, once he got off at the top of the slope. After a few moments to get their wits back, she got each of the students lined up at the start of the run.

"I'll go first, to show you what to do," Sarah told them. "All eyes on me."

Sarah skied midway down the short trail as everyone did what she asked, but one paid a little more attention than the others. Chuck was absolutely speechless. He knew that he should be paying attention to the points she was making about how to ski, but she was just so breathtaking, so fluid. It was as though she was gliding down the mountain. Sarah made it appear effortless. She locked eyes with Chuck.

"Chuck," she asked, a bit of a wince on her face. "Would you mind going last, you know, to keep an eye on the kids?" Chuck nodded at her.

"It so he doesn't fall down and kill us all," Fred muttered.

"Seriously, can you grow up?!" Lizze snarled at him.

"Children," Chuck said.

"Yes, sir," they said as one.

Each child went down the slope, one by one. Chuck watched them all go, and then Sarah directed them all off to the side. He gave her a flat look that she could easily see, standing where she was. He found himself chuckling at her, as she gave a shrug that seemed to say, _I'm sorry, but you know it's true._ He knew that it was fairly certain that she wanted all the kids off of the trail so that he couldn't maim anyone but himself when he ventured down the hill.

Chuck prepared himself to go, and couldn't help but to turn a bit red when he saw the amused look on Sarah's face as she observed him preparing as for an Olympic downhill competition. He pushed off, and that's when it all went to hell in a handbasket. Where Sarah had been smooth and graceful, Chuck was bumbling and clumsy.

"Slice of pizza" he heard her yell out, followed by, "French fries".

"Not helping," he yelled while silently praying to God he didn't die. "That's just making me hungry." He then executed a flawless split, planting himself face first in the snow. The other kids, waiting at the bottom of the trail, started laughing. Chuck gave them a mock glare, as he pulled his face out of the snow and looked somewhat like Santa Claus, with snow covering his face and eyebrows.

"Laugh it up, fuzzballs." The kids laughed even harder. Chuck grinned at them. If you're going to be laughed at, being laughed at by _Star Wars_ fans made it a bit easier to take. Chuck had already taken a shine to the children, but with this incident, he decided that he liked them even more.

He got back upright, then slowly and quite awkwardly, Chuck finally made it to the bottom of the bunny slope. He was promptly rewarded with high fives from all of his classmates, which he returned with a huge grin. Sarah faced the kids by stepping between them and Chuck. "Ok guys. Great work! You are ready to hit the slopes with you parents." The kids let out a big cheer, and made their way back to the Base Lodge. Sarah turned to Chuck, scrunching up her nose as she tried to figure out a nice way to say this.

"Uh, Chuck," Sarah said, as she helped to brush some of the snow off of the back of his neck and his beanie cap. "I think that it would be better if you and I practice a little more before we subject the rest of the mountain to your… unique… style of skiing."

"You mean, so that I don't maim everyone on the slopes and I get banned for life by the Ski Patrol," Chuck replied with a goofy grin. Sarah reached into her backpack and pulled out a bright red shell jacket with SKI PATROL in large white letters. His eyes went wide, and he pressed his lips together. "I guess I'm too late already." He gave her a sad smile, and she watched his shoulders slump a bit in defeat. "The Base Lodge has Wi-Fi, right? I can just grab my laptop out of my bag and get some work done while I stay toasty and warm."

Sarah immediately felt a sense of sadness that Chuck didn't want to keep skiing with her. Although, to be fair, he did spend more time going down the hill on his face than on his skis. While she loved the unfettered joy that came with teaching little kids a new skill, there was something special about Chuck. He was working really hard to learn to ski, but at the same time was totally irreverent when it came to his near complete lack of ability. Most men would have complained about the equipment, or the teacher, but Chuck accepted his lack of skill, maybe a little too much for her taste.

"Oh no you don't Bartowski," Sarah said in her most commanding voice, grabbing his arm before he could run. Chuck glanced down at her hand wrapped around his wrist, then back at her. She had a quite determined look on her face, which Chuck both feared, and if he was honest, found more than a little hot. "You get those skis back on and head over to the tow bar. I've never had a student fail on me, and I'm not going to start with you."

Chuck was stunned. The class was over. Sarah was off the clock, and he had just given her the perfect excuse to walk away. But if she wanted to keep going, there was no way he was going to deny her, and there was certainly no way he was going to be the reason she failed. Chuck Bartowski swore to himself on everything he had that he was going to succeed, for her. He was not going to let her down.

They headed over to the tow bar and made their way to the top of the bunny slope yet again. Sarah had exhorted Chuck to relax his legs and just steer, rather than fight the mountain. Nevertheless, Chuck's legs were again quivering with exhaustion as he stood at the start of the trail.

Sarah headed about a third of the way down the short trail. Chuck quickly realized that he would be perfectly content to sit around all day watching Sarah ski. She was in her natural element, and she was simply amazing. He tried to focus on what she was saying, and not on how incredible she looked. He pushed off and tried to follow her instructions.

He still fell twice by the time he got to where she was waiting.

"Chuck, you don't need to lift your skis. Just slide your foot in and then back straight, in and straight. You are making it harder than you need to," Sarah said in her most encouraging voice. "You can do this. I know that you can. And once you do, you will have so much fun going down the trails." He gave her a dubious look.

"Ok, so not the black diamonds, those are for experts, and as good as I am, I'm not a miracle worker." She could see his jaw and mouth twitching, trying not to laugh. She didn't know why, but she found she really enjoyed it when he laughed. "And not the blue squares," she said, shaking her head, her eyes slightly closed, but grinning. "That would be intermediate, and you're not ready for those either." Chuck's eyes were dancing as he fought the laughter. "But the green circles," she said in a low tone, looking around as if to see if anyone was listening to her tell him a secret. "You will _own_ those green circles!"

Chuck broke.

His laughter became contagious, and the two of them laughed for a bit. "Thanks, Sarah." She grinned at him and gave him a gentle shove on the arm. Chuck turned, and readied himself for the slope.

Chuck took a deep breath, thought about her instructions and took off. To say he was still struggling was an understatement. He fell three more times before he made it to the bottom.

She watched him, shoulders slumped, defeat on his face. He turned to her. "I'm sorry," he said. "Listen, I shouldn't have been in your class, I don't want to ruin your perfect record, so we'll pretend this never happened."

"Wait, what?" Sarah asked. "I could care less about that record."

"Then why do you care so much about whether or not I can ski?" Chuck asked.

"I want you to experience the freedom," she began. "I want you to get to feel as alive as I do as I go down the slopes." She turned to him, a grin on her face. "Trust me, Chuck?"

He did. He had no idea why he did, but he did. "I do," he replied. Sarah just grinned, and Chuck felt excited and terrified all at the same time.

* * *

A/N: Oh look, it's a fluffhanger on a ski slope. Does that make this a snowy fluffhanger? *crickets* I'll be here all week, folks.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	3. Ch 3, Identities Revealed

A/N: Last time, Sarah asked Chuck if she trusted him. Chuck said he did, and no one was surprised. So what is Sarah thinking… let's find out. Warning the fluff is about to crank up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck.

* * *

Sarah watched Chuck, thinking he looked a little nervous. How could he not be, someone he barely knew asked him to trust her, and he did. She didn't find him naive, she truly believed he trusted her. A smile came to her face and she looked down, then back up to him. She wondered how he would react when she told him of the tactic she intended to try – one that she used to teach some smaller children. In theory it would work with Chuck as well, but she was hesitant.

"For the record, this is something I use with the smaller kids," Sarah admitted.

Chuck shrugged. "Well, they're more skilled than I am, so your record is still in jeopardy." She narrowed her eyes. "It _is_,' he insisted.

"Still not worried," She replied. She wanted him to enjoy the slopes, feel what she felt. She had used every tool, every trick that she knew to try to get Chuck comfortable on his skis. There truly was only one option left, aside from giving up. And she wasn't about to let Chuck give up.

"Okay," Sarah said somewhat apprehensively. "Here's what we're going to do. We'll try this, tandem. Usually I do this with the younger kids who are having trouble picking up the skills. What I will do is stand directly behind you, with my skis outside of yours. I can then guide you through what to do as you are doing it."

Chuck was confused, trying to picture what she was describing. He thought about a tandem bike, and then how she described how she had helped others. Surely, she didn't mean…

"You mean…" Chuck trailed off.

"Mmmhmm," she said nodding. Chuck swallowed thickly, as she moved behind him. She slid up behind Chuck, with her own skis just inches outside his own. She rested her hands on his hips as she nudged him forward to start down the slope. Due to their height difference, she had to move up flush against his back in order to call into his ear what to do. "Okay, here we go," she said, her breath hitting his neck.

Chuck was so distracted by the sensation of Sarah's body molded up against his own, so lost in her touch at his hips, her breath on his neck and ears, that he didn't think about falling, freezing or suffering grievous bodily injury. He really didn't focus on anything, except the contact with Sarah, doing as instructed when she said it, and wondering what he did, or who he owed, for this wonderful moment.

Suddenly they were stopped, and Chuck looked around. Realization crept into his brain that they had made it all the way down Tucker Run without him falling. He would have been proud of his accomplishment, but Sarah was still pressed up against him, her hands having moved from his hips to around his waist.

When they came to a stop, Sarah took a moment to enjoy it, as she could feel the excitement from Chuck. She had wrapped her hands around his waist, giving him a hug, pride bursting through her. It was only then she realized that not only was she still wrapped around Chuck like a blanket, but they were in sight of the Base Lodge, and all of her co-workers. Her brain registered this fact, but her body… it refused to let go. Finally, she was able to force her hands to let go of Chuck's waist, and she pivoted away on her skis.

As she moved away, she felt the loss of contact instantly. It stunned her how much she missed it. They had been like that for two minutes, max, and now… now she missed Chuck. It took every bit of her considerable self-control not to wrap herself around Chuck Bartowski again.

She faced Chuck, and saw a look on his face she could only describe as _gob smacked_. "Uh, good job Chuck," Sarah finally stammered out. "You did it."

"I'm pretty sure that was you doing that," Chuck said blushing. "I was a bit distracted the whole time. I'm kind of amazed I didn't crash us into a tree or something." He paused. "Thank you. I owed it to Ellie to learn how to ski. She went to a lot of trouble for us to be here for Christmas, and I didn't want to let her down."

Sarah cleared her throat, and felt something burning in the pit of her stomach. She looked around for a second. "So, you have someone waiting for you?"

Chuck made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a grunt. "Huh." He shook his head, looking at the ground. "Yeah, no. I mean I thought I did but, no."

Sarah blinked, and Chuck seemed to shake himself awake. "Uh, sorry. Awesome and Ellie said something about heading over to Granite Chief. I don't think I'm quite ready for that. I think that I'll head into the lodge for a bit."

Sarah popped up an eyebrow at him, and he thought that she might think that he had decided not to carry on, even after all the work she had put in. It never occurred to him it might be for any other reason. "Just to rest up for a bit," he clarified. "It's safe to say that it's been a long time since I've used many of the muscles that I have grossly abused today. I promise that after I get some food into me, and maybe an aspirin or two, I'll be back out here. After these lessons, I can finally see the attraction that skiing has for my sister and her boyfriend. I doubt that I'll get much past the bunny slope here, for this trip at least. But I'm not about to stop now."

"So, Ellie… she's your sister?" Sarah asked. Chuck nodded, and Sarah beamed for multiple reasons. First, she desperately loved the freedom that she felt on the slopes, and for Chuck to get even a small taste of that meant a lot to her. Secondly, she was quite happy to hear that Ellie was his sister.

"Yeah, she and I are all we have left," Chuck said with a shrug. "You're probably her favorite person on the planet now," Chuck said with a smile that had his lips pulled away from his teeth.

She found herself smiling back, and wondering how this guy had made her laugh and smile more today than she had at any point in her life. She reminded herself that he was just here for a short time, and not to get too attached. That should be no problem, given her history. Now all she had to do was try to forget how comfortable it had felt to be tucked up against Chuck Bartowski. As much as she loved skiing, going down a hill – even if just a bunny slope – while wrapped around Chuck, was a powerful feeling.

"I'm gonna head…" he motioned to the lodge, and Sarah nodded, heading the same direction. He gave her a look.

"I'm done for a bit myself," Sarah replied. "So if you don't mind…"

"Don't mind at all, but it's okay, I know why you're walking with me," Chuck replied with a grin.

Sarah kept the smile on her face, but inside she was a mess. _He knows? How the hell does he know? I barely know, I'm not sure I _do_ know. _"Just what do you think you know?" she asked.

"I know you're walking with me to make sure I don't trip, and they have to come to get you because you're Ski Patrol," Chuck replied. Sarah snorted. "I mean, you know that big dog on _Bugs Bunny_ that's always drinking in the rescue outfit in the alps?"

"We have one of those," Sarah cut in.

Chuck looked at her, his eyes wide. "Shut the front door!"

"His name is Roan Montgomery, and all he does is drink his martinis and flirt with women half his age," Sarah told him with a grin.

Chuck burst out laughing. "You're kidding?"

"I am," she replied. "They're about one-third his age," she said dryly. She walked him in. "Hey, get a seat over there by the fire, and I'll come join you in a moment."

"Okay," Chuck agreed, grinning at her.

Sarah smiled at him, then walked toward the room beside the front desk. She saw Casey sitting at the computer inside, an unlit cigar in his mouth, a grin on his face. "I see you met your new prize student," Casey said, never looking up. Sarah looked up at the announcement board and her smile fell off her face in record time.

"What the hell is this, Casey?" Sarah growled, ripping the picture of Bryce and his current girlfriend off the board and slapping it on the table in front of him.

"It's your ex and his new piece of ass," Casey replied, looking up at her. "You two are broken up, right?"

"We were never really together," she growled at him, pushing her hand through her hair. "Why in the hell is it on the board?"

"To amuse me," Casey replied with a shrug. "You do remember the party's tonight, right?"

"Hi, Gertrude," Sarah said as the older woman walked in. Casey sat up in the chair and tried to push the picture under the keyboard of the computer. Gertrude walked over, yanked the picture away from Casey, and slapped him on the back of the head.

"OW!" Casey yelled.

"I thought I told you to quit doing this to her," Gertrude said. "John Casey."

"Oh boy," Casey muttered.

"You pull this _one_ more time, I will tie you to a stake on Granite Chief and trigger an avalanche." She gave him a level look, picked up a folder from the table, and walked back out.

"Looks like I'm about to have the same dry spell as you," Casey muttered.

"Where's Gertrude?" Sarah threatened, making a show of looking around for her.

"Hey now, let's not be hasty," Casey said, grabbing her wrist before she could walk off. "You can always take your star pupil to the shindig."

"Why would I do that?" Sarah asked. Casey handed her the digital camera. She looked at the screen, and saw herself and Chuck going down the trail. "You know I do that with some students."

"Look at your face," Casey said. Sarah looked, and her jaw dropped. There was joy on her face, unbridled joy. "And before you start about no one is here for long, maybe try and see if you can be with someone before worrying about forever."

"Casey," she said, but looked back to the picture.

"Hell, Walker, I have someone… don't tell me you can't. At least ask the string bean to the party."

"He's not that much of a string bean," Sarah said as she left the room. She heard Casey grunt out a chuckle. She walked out of the office and saw Zondra talking to Chuck at the front desk. Zondra looked highly amused in her conversation. She saw Sarah, and Zondra's grin grew even wider.

"Hey, Sarah," Zondra said. "We've had an interesting request."

"Again, I wouldn't have asked," Chuck began. Zondra waved him off.

"This one," she began.

"Z, his name is Chuck," Sarah said, cutting in.

"Yeah, Z," Chuck added.

"_You_ don't call me Z," Zondra said, pointing at him.

"Okay, Z," Chuck replied.

She turned toward him, a mischievous grin on her face. "I will murder you in your sleep if you do it again."

"You don't know where I'm staying," Chuck retorted. Zondra lifted an eyebrow and Chuck gulped.

"Children," Sarah said in a warning tone.

At the same time, both answered that the other had started it, making Sarah roll her eyes and then look up to the heavens.

"I told String Bean here that you were a gold medalist, after he asked for you to be his personal teacher," Zondra said, never breaking her glare from Chuck.

"That's _not_ what happened," Chuck protested. "I simply asked if anyone would teach private lessons, and if Sarah… you," he said turning toward her, "taught such a class, I was interested, because you do such an amazing job."

"She's quite hands-on," Zondra said, enjoying the blush it brought to both of their faces. Neither noticed it on the other, because they refused to look at each other.

"I'm gonna murder Casey," Sarah growled. "But why would you tell him that?"

"Because you are," Zondra said.

"And she's messing with me," Chuck retorted. He turned to Sarah. "You know I told you about Ellie?" Sarah nodded. "Well, yesterday when we got here late, I was content to sit down here by the fire all day. See, my girlfriend dumped me at Thanksgiving, but it was more of a… we were…"

"Convenient?" Sarah offered. Chuck nodded, and Sarah was stunned at how familiar it felt.

"So, my sister said I should come here, try some things I normally wouldn't, and to not have any regrets. Z over here thinks I'm some… well, I don't know what, but I swear I'm not that guy. I just think you're a really good teacher."

"She's an Olympic Gold Medalist, you dweeb," Zondra said.

Chuck turned to her. "Nerd," he corrected, making Sarah smile.

"What_ever_," Zondra retorted. She turned to Sarah. "So, I told him who you are, so he wouldn't chase you."

"I am not chasing her," Chuck insisted. "You know what-"

"Cool it, both of you," Sarah said. Both turned to Sarah. "No regrets huh?" Chuck shrugged. She turned to Zondra. "Why?"

Zondra smiled at her. "Why do you care?"

"Wait," Chuck said, his eyes widening. "You're… you're… oh my God," he said, stumbling over himself. "I'm sorry. You know what, I'm just gonna-"

"You are going to go sit by the fire like you planned, while I talk to my friend, and then I want to talk about this personal teacher idea," Sarah said, having grabbed his wrist before he could run off.

"I am?" he asked. Sarah gave him a look. "I am," he said, nodding. He turned and headed toward the couch. Sarah turned to Zondra, who was Cheshire-cat grinning.

"I don't know what in the hell you think you're doing," she began.

"Ask him to the party tonight," Zondra said softly. "Come on, he's cute."

"I thought he was a string bean?"

"He's no Cole," Zondra replied with a shrug.

"There is no one who _is_ a Cole besides Cole, and thank _God_ for that," Sarah replied.

"Don't knock it till you try it, Sarah," Zondra said with a smile.

"No thank you," she said quickly. "Now I have to deal with this mess you've made."

"What, you don't like being treated like a gold medalist?" Zondra asked.

"No, I want to be treated like me."

"You're a gold medalist," Zondra reminded her.

"You are impossible."

"But you love me," Zondra replied

Sarah rolled her eyes. "God help me, I do," she said, heading over to Chuck. She sat down on the couch beside him.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked. She nodded. "I _hurt_, Sarah." Sarah fought a grin. "Like….._hurrrrrrt_." He drew the word out, agonizingly long.

"I assume it's your face, since you went face-first so many times?" Chuck turned to her, jaw opened, faux upset. "So, about this private teacher."

"I am so sorry," he began.

"Oh, hush," she said, shaking her head. Chuck gave her a skeptical look. "I won a gold medal… Okay, more than one, but… I bet you do stuff I can't. What do you do?"

"I'm in cybersecurity," Chuck said shrugging.

"See, that's important," she said. She thought for a second. "Bartowski?" she asked. Chuck turned a little red and looked away. "_Bartech_?" she asked. Chuck continued to look away. "And you're freaking out over me getting gold medals? God, I almost asked you to look at my computer because it's acting weird."

"I wouldn't mind," he said, quickly turning back. She gave him a look and he shrugged. "I like computers."

"And I like skiing," she said, giving him a significant look.

He sighed. "Message received."

"Good. So, I have nothing on the schedule this week, because I'm supposed to be off with my mom and sister," she began.

"Then I couldn't ask," Chuck began.

"Will you please shut up, and let me finish," she said, giving him an exasperated look. The rebuke was somewhat softened by the fact that she was laughing at him at the same time. Huffing out an exaggerated breath, she said "Mom would have no problem with this. In fact, I'm sure she'd encourage it." Chuck gave her a look at that comment. "My ex-boyfriend… that was… convenient." Chuck grinned and gave a slow nod. "I haven't had one since, and, well…"

"You're saying that we should spend time together?" Chuck asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Look, I like you. You're so… down to earth, and God I am sick of men so full of themselves," Sarah began. "Oh, God," she said, horror on her face. "I just assumed… I mean… I never asked. Do you enjoy spending time with me?"

"No, in fact I hate it, but I'm on this journey of causing myself pain, so that's why I asked if you were available to teach me to ski," Chuck said, trying not to laugh the entire time.

"I should punch you directly in the face," she said, and then she burst out laughing and fell against him. When they sobered up, they both grinned at each other. "No regrets, huh?"

"So I've been told."

"Okay, so… you have a coat and tie?"

"What?" he asked, a little confused. "Uh, yes. I do, but…"

"Meet me by the reception desk at 7:15 tonight. Coat and tie. No Canadian tuxes allowed," she said with a grin.

"Okay," he replied, still confused.

"I'll keep helping you," Sarah replied. "But, it's not as a paid teacher. It's as a friend, helping a friend."

Chuck grinned at her. "Wow, I have an Olympic gold medalist as a friend."

"And I have a smart nerd as one," she retorted. He tried to look offended, but she was falling back on the couch, her tongue stuck out from between her teeth, laughing. He reached over to help pull her up, and their hands clasped. The shock that ran through them made both of their eyes go wide.

"Well, see you tonight, I think I need to go soak in a tub," he said quickly, and he was gone. Sarah watched him go.

"Oh boy," she said to herself.

* * *

A/N: I mean I still have a ton from Dillwg, but this is fuuuuunnnnnnnnn.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	4. Ch 4, The Party

A/N: Christmas, me, fanfic...There is a required amount of fluff. Here's hoping I meet it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

Chuck checked his watch, seeing he had another five minutes before he was fifteen minutes early. When someone like Sarah Walker tells you to be somewhere, you aren't late.

He thought back to that morning, and shook his head. After their handshake, Chuck needed something to do. He headed into the little town of Truckee, that was a short ride from the lodge. As he started to look around, he saw signs that constantly had the word Donner in them. He quickly headed back to the lodge after that.

As he had checked over the blazer and khakis he had packed (at Ellie's insistence), he realized he hadn't thought about Jill or the outside world since yesterday's talk with his sister. His mind was clearer here. Even when he was looking over Donner lake, which was eerie in its own right, he found a peacefulness here he hadn't felt… well, since he was a kid.

"Don't you clean up nice," he heard behind him. He smiled and turned. It took everything in him to not drop his jaw and stare at the vision in front of him that was Sarah Walker. She was dressed in a red… no scratch that, salmon, dress that made him feel underdressed. She had asked him to meet in the lobby of the resort, so from there they could take an elevator to the conference room set aside for the staff holiday party. Chuck couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked up to him, straightened his tie, and brushed down the lapels on his jacket before reaching a hand up to run her fingers through his curls.

Chuck was nearly in shock as she moved toward him, and made him more presentable in a way that seemed more intimate than he thought she would be comfortable with. "You look… well… amazing isn't a strong enough word, but I guess it will have to do." She gave him a look through her lashes and grinned at him. Good God. She was several levels past stunning… right up into the _how-can-someone-that-perfect-exist_ level.

"Wasn't sure you were coming," she admitted, locking eyes with him. "You sort of… dashed out of here."

He cleared his throat. "Can I be honest?"

"Please," she said, a soft smile on her face.

"I haven't… haven't had the best luck in the dating department, and what happened earlier… it was a lot, and I was overwhelmed. But I'm good now… really good. I went into town… did you know everything around here is named after the Donners?"

"I live in Truckee, Chuck," Sarah replied, the grin growing.

"Is that lake always that eerie?"

"Yes," she replied, her face turning serious.

"I admit, I found it peaceful, I find this _place_ peaceful… I hide a lot, Sarah," he said, feeling vulnerable, but safe, all at the same time. "My parents left when I was young, and my sister, well, she raised me to some degree." Sarah's eyes went wide. "So, while my sister said 'no regrets,' I don't know how to do that. But…but I'd like to try, with you."

"What does 'no regrets' mean to you?" she asked.

"When you ask me to a party, I go," Chuck replied. She beamed at him. "However, I do feel underdressed."

"Want me to let you on a secret?" Chuck nodded. She looked around like she was about to tell him the most private thing in the world. "No matter what anyone else is wearing, as long as you go in there and be you, no one… and I mean _no one…_ will look as good as you do, when you're you." He turned red. "I know I've only known you for a little while, but that is something I am sure of."

Chuck cleared his throat. "Thank you." He chuckled. "God, I have no idea how to take a compliment."

"Didn't you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Didn't you have a boyfriend," he asked with finger quotes.

"Touché," she replied. "Well, I stand by what I said."

"And I stand by what I said, that I feel underdressed," he said. She shook her head. "And I don't mean just this lovely… is that a salmon color?" She snorted at that. He continued, "this dress that you make look amazing." She turned her head a bit, and looked back at him almost shyly, a hint of red on her neck. "You have been so kind and patient with me. Thank you, and thank you for asking me to accompany you." He offered her his arm, and she took it with a grin.

They headed toward the elevator, and before they realized what was happening, they were strolling out of the elevator and towards a ballroom in the conference center. Most eyes were fixed on Sarah and her incredible dress. But there were many, of both genders, checking out Chuck. They were all trying to figure out the identity of the mystery man whom Sarah had invited.

As they entered the room, one set of eyes took in Chuck, before dismissing him out of hand. Those same eyes then focused on Sarah. Sarah had felt the eyes on her, and knew exactly who the slimy eyes belonged to, when Chuck spotted them.

"Lon Kirk," Sarah said, with Chuck immediately knowing who she was referring to. "Recently bought an ownership interest in this place, and makes sure everyone knows it." Sarah gave him an obligatory wave. "Damn it," she muttered where only Chuck could hear. He was making his way to the couple, with a smile that made it nowhere close to his eyes.

"Sarah, lovely to see you at our little party," Kirk said, holding her hand for several seconds longer than was appropriate. He didn't even acknowledge Chuck's existence.

"Sorry that we're a little late," Sarah said with a saccharine smile. She looped an arm through Chuck's. "I took a little extra time to make sure that I looked as good as possible for my boyfriend. Chuck always says that he thinks that I look as beautiful in sweats and a t-shirt as I do in an evening gown. It makes me try that much harder to impress him." Sarah turned to Chuck and her smile morphed into a genuine one as she saw him smiling back at her.

"Well, sweetie," Chuck jumped in. "It's not about what you are wearing, but about who you are." Sarah stared at him, realizing many things in that moment; it wasn't a pick-up line for Chuck – he truly thought who she is was pretty amazing – and Lon Kirk thought Chuck was an idiot, though Lon Kirk wasn't a fraction of the man that Chuck was.

Kirk shot Sarah a look that clearly read 'what are you doing with this bozo'. While Chuck saw the look and was wondering the same thing himself, Sarah missed the look completely as she studied Chuck as if she was memorizing every detail about him.

Kirk rolled his eyes and walked off. "Sorry," Chuck said, turning to Sarah as they watched him walk over to a group of employees sure to fawn over him… or at least his bank account.

"For what?" Sarah asked. "He's going to get someone to kiss his ass. It's about the only thing that Milbarge is actually good at." She reached up and smoothed his tie. "I'm with exactly who I want to be with right now." Chuck's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself. "Mmmhmm," she replied.

"Sarah, why?"

"Because I like you," she replied honestly. "I like you and I like who you are, so…"

He grinned at her, and she had to look away. Chuck didn't want to embarrass her, so he glanced around the room as well.

A buffet was set up in one corner, with a wide assortment of finger foods. Nearby there was a dance floor set up with a DJ. Three different open bars were located in the large room, and each had a small crowd mingling around. Nearly a third of the room was taken up by seats facing a large movie screen. When Sarah caught Chuck looking at the screen, she grinned

"Warren Miller Entertainment are giving us a sneak peak of their new movie. You know, the extreme skiing movies?" Chuck had no idea what those were, and frankly he had bigger problems on his hands. Sarah had grabbed Chuck's hand and dragged him over to the dance floor. "Please?"

Chuck knew that he was doomed. There was no way under any normal circumstance that he had the ability to say no to Sarah Walker. But, when she gave him the puppy dog eyes, he knew that he would rather ski down a double black diamond mogul field while blindfolded than disappoint her.

The DJ was in an 80s kind of mood as they took the floor, playing Duran Duran's _Rio_before transitioning to Jesus Jones' _Right Here Right Now_. Chuck wasn't the most accomplished dancer that Sarah had ever danced with, but she'd never had more fun than when dancing with him. As with skiing, his form may not have been perfect, but he enjoyed himself.

Bryce never could, she found herself thinking. Bryce wouldn't have taken a class with children to learn to ski. Did she even know anything real about Bryce? She realized, she didn't care. She also realized that she wanted to know everything about Chuck Bartowski, and she wanted him to know everything about her. She had never wanted anyone to know her business, and now here was this guy she had barely known a day, and she was falling fast and hard. That scared her a little.

The music shifted to Winter Wonderland, and Sarah slid into Chucks arms as they swayed to the music. Sarah was desperately trying to not overthink things. But everything just clicked into place when she was with Chuck. It just felt natural, comfortable… it felt right. Had it ever felt right with Bryce? She wanted to chide herself for thinking about her relationship with Bryce while being with Chuck, but she realized she wasn't thinking of him in a way of longing; it was more in a way of regret. She realized that her relationship with Bryce had never been more than a pale imitation of what a relationship should be. It had been her one 'relationship' in life, and it was already overshadowed by the sliver of time that she had spent with Chuck.

Sarah felt more in twelve hours with Chuck than she did with all her time with Bryce Larkin. If she and Bryce were boyfriend and girlfriend, then what in the blue hell did that make her and Chuck? She was pulled out of her thoughts by realizing the song was ending, with Sarah resting her head on Chuck's shoulder as he had his hands behind her back.

Just as Sarah was thinking that she didn't want the song to end, she realized that someone was standing directly behind her. From the nearly overwhelming smell of eggnog, she knew that it was Jeff. Reluctantly she lifted her head from Chuck's shoulder and opened her eyes… and she wished she hadn't.

It was worse than she feared. Not only was Jeff in their personal space, not only was Jeff swaying in a way that had nothing to do with music, but he was holding a sprig of mistletoe over her and Chuck. "You'll thank me later dude," Jeff said to her in a boozy tone. Oh my God, Jeff Barnes is trying to be my wingman.

"We're good. Thanks," she replied. Sarah was concerned as to how Chuck would view the whole incident. Was he going to think that Sarah used a wingman often? Just as bad, was he going to think from her dismissal of Jeff that she didn't want to kiss Chuck?

But when she turned her head to look at Chuck, never having taken her arms down from around his neck, she saw the warmth of his look and a smile playing on his lips. "It's ok," he said, a playful lilt to his voice. "I wouldn't want our first kiss to be dictated by tradition."

Her concerns evaporated, and her playful side emerged. She wasn't going to be shown up by him. "First kiss? Already decided that you are not only getting a kiss tonight, but that there'll be more than one?"

Chuck locked in place, panic taking over his eyes. "No. I just meant... I'm not sure what I meant but I wasn't..."

"Relax, Chuck," Sarah said with a big grin as she let go of his neck, but quickly moved to his side and slid her arm around his waist. "Let's grab a seat. The movie is going to start soon."

Chuck realized that she'd just been playing with him. He smiled at her teasing, the panic disappearing from his eyes as an easy grin transformed his face.

"Do you trust me?" Sarah asked as they were walking towards the chairs and past one of the open bars.

"After what happened out on the slope? I trusted you then, I trust you now, and I'll keep trusting you." Sarah's eyes turned a darker shade of blue as she stared hungrily at him, as Chuck realized how that sounded. "I mean, you _were_ risking life and limb to help me learn to ski. And I am both alive and well. So yes, I trust you."

Sarah took in a deep breath to regain her self-control. She reached over and took Chuck's hand, leading him toward the bar. "Two peppermint patties please," she told the bartender.

Chuck looked lost. "While I always thought of Peppermint Patty as an underappreciated character in the Peanuts universe, who had the foresight to always refer to Charlie Brown as Chuck," he said with a wry grin that made Sarah's stomach tumble. He continued, "I'm not sure what she has to do with your Christmas party."

"Uh uh," Sarah tsked Chuck. "You said that you trust me. With your life. So, no questioning my choices now."

The bartender walked back over with two mugs filled with a delicious combination of hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps. Sarah let out a small groan as she took her first sip. "Dirty little secret? I love chocolate. Hot chocolate, chocolate bars, especially chocolate croissants," Sarah confessed in a stage whisper that had Chuck grinning.

He then took a sip, and turned to her, excitement on his face. "Ok, wow! That is delicious. I'm guessing there aren't many bars in LA that will have a ready supply of hot chocolate, and mores the shame."

Sarah beamed at him, far happier than she would have expected for having done something to make Chuck happy. Rather than exploring the significance of that realization, Sarah grabbed Chuck's free hand and led him to strategic seats to watch the movie.

}o{

When the lights came back up after the movie, Chuck saw several people around them giving Sarah high-fives. He was still fixated on what he had just seen. Sarah looked at him somewhat cautiously. "So, what did you think?"

"Ok… first of all, that was some amazing scenery. Just seriously beautiful. But those skiers? That was all kinds of crazy. I thought that Captain Awesome was an adrenaline junkie, but he doesn't come close. That one scene with the avalanche was downright scary. I mean to be in a narrow canyon like that with all that snow coming after you. God, I couldn't even imagine it."

More people passed them, and would pat Sarah on the back with an 'awesome' or 'too cool' comment thrown in.

"Don't get me wrong here," Chuck said, appearing curious at the reception that

Sarah was getting. "I have no doubt that you are popular here… I mean Olympic gold medalist, and the fact you're… well… you." He paused for a second. "But, what's up with the high-fives? Am I missing something?"

Sarah was circumspect as she decided how to answer Chuck. She had realized early on that while he knew about the Olympics, he didn't know her background, and it was nice just being a regular ski school instructor. She had been looking forward to seeing the movie since the production company announced that they would get a sneak-peek. But throughout the day, she had been more looking forward to just spending time with Chuck, instead of seeing the footage. And the movie had been far more dramatic than she had expected, especially the avalanche scene. Plus, she hadn't stopped to consider how a novice skier like Chuck would react to the film.

"The skier in the light blue jacket… that was me." She paused to take in Chuck's reaction.

Chuck's eyes bulged as his mind made the connections with what he had seen on the screen, the audience's reaction to Sarah after the film, and her posture. He even turned back to the screen, that currently had no picture on it, and then back to her, his mouth agape. "What? That was you? So, you…"

"Outran an avalanche? Yes," Sarah replied while studying Chuck intently. Was he going to decide that she was certifiably insane, and call it quits? "Although, it was a powder avalanche, not a more dangerous slab avalanche. Plus, once I realized that it was behind me, I didn't really have time to appreciate just how it looked. I just had to figure out how to get out of its way."

Chuck was speechless, so she continued. "Much of the movie was filmed on the backside of this mountain," Sarah continued, pointing out of the window in the general direction of where she had been. "It's US Forestry land, so it can't get developed for skiing. But we were able to get permits for the movie."

"You outran an avalanche," Chuck sputtered.

"Yes," she confirmed, wondering if she had broken him.

"You outran an avalanche," Chuck repeated.

Sarah stayed quiet this time, waiting for Chuck to process the information. She was convinced that she wouldn't have him looking at her with those warm eyes that made her think of hot chocolate flecked with gold. She wouldn't be the recipient of those unabashed smiles that made her feel so special. She was about to have another thought of which she was sure Chuck wouldn't do some of the things he had done in the past, when he suddenly reached out and crushed her against him in a hug.

"Not that I'm complaining," Sarah choked out, blinking and losing the ability to breathe, but enjoying it all at the same time. "But what did I do to earn a hug like this?"

Chuck instantly jumped back, and Sarah just as instantly regretted the loss of contact – even if it did make breathing a little easier. "I'm so sorry…"

She took his hand, stopping him in mid-sentence. "Chuck, I wasn't complaining then, and I'm sure not complaining now." She gave him a soft smile. "And I won't complain if you decide to hug me like that again."

Between the smile and offer, Chuck was melting on the inside.

"Sorry," he managed to get out. "It's… it's just that I realized that you could have died." He stopped and realized he had to say everything he was feeling, because that was what they did. God help him, he had known her a little over twelve hours, and he was doing things because he wanted to, and that was what they did. "And that's when it hit me." She studied him, not sure what he was getting at. "I never would have met you," he said softly, his voice cracking a bit. "It was just such an overwhelming emotion that I didn't think, I just had to hug you."

Sarah squeezed his hands, which were still in hers. "I'm not upset. That is actually pretty sweet."

"Sweet. Great. Now you've made me feel like I'm eight," Chuck said, falling back on humor to try to diffuse the intensity of the moment.

She looked him dead in the eye. "Chuck, I spent all morning with my arms wrapped around your waist. We were so close that people on the gondola probably thought we were one person with some seriously bizarre clothes. And I just had an incredible dance with you where we were even closer together. Trust me, I know perfectly well that you are a grown man."

Chuck was speechless, swallowing hard over and over.

Sarah then got a mischievous look in her eyes. "Still trust me?" Chuck nodded, scared to speak. "Let's get a couple of Peppermint Patties to go. I've got a plan."

* * *

A/N: Now what kinda plan does she have? And how have I written (well, co-written, a LOT of this has been Dillwg's or his idea) FOUR chapters and they not be together? I feel like something might happen soon.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	5. Ch 5, Meet the Families

A/N: When we last saw our heroes, Chuck had hugged her because she might of died and he'd never met her. Many of you awed, but have I given this the fluff it needs? Not yet, but let's work on that. And by the way, THE line in this fic, it's Dillwg's.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

A short time later, Sarah and Chuck collected their coats and made a hasty departure from the staff holiday party, bundled into her Jeep.

"Just give me a minute to get out of this dress," Sarah said, as they hurried into her home. She didn't feel him beside her anymore, and turned to look behind her. She broke out in laughter immediately on seeing Chuck, with a deer-in-headlights expression on his face. "I need to put on some regular clothes. It'll be too cold where we're going for me to go dressed like this," she said, as she waved a hand up and down her body. As she had expected, Chuck's eyes had followed the path of her hand, making him freeze up again.

She chuckled, and walked toward her room. "If an older lady and little girl should come in, that's my mom and sister." Chuck gulped and looked around the living room. He saw pictures of Sarah from her teens until now, of her with medals, awards, and all sorts of trophies. He stopped and looked at one of her and the aforementioned older woman and toddler.

"Mom had me young, and then she found a new guy in her life a little while back. He… he died in a tragic accident, after she found out she was pregnant, so that's our family." Chuck turned towards her with multiple thoughts in his head. One, how was it possible for anyone, much less a woman done up in a glamorous gown, to change that fast? Two, should he ask what happened, or was he even supposed to?

"Drunk driver," she said, pulling him out of his thoughts, again.

"I'm sorry," Chuck said softly.

"Yeah… I don't know if he and mom were forever, but… I mean, she was surprised she was pregnant," Sarah said, with a small shrug. Chuck had noticed she had changed into a pair of jeans, some cowboy boots and a warm fuzzy sweater. He found her just as beautiful as she had looked in the red dress.

"Kind of not fair," Chuck said to her. She tilted her head as if to ask 'what'. "You go and change into warmer clothing, and your just as beautiful, if not more so." A grin formed on her face, and she walked toward him.

"There's no Lon Kirk here to make up those kinds of lines, Chuck," she said, gripping both side of his coat with her hands.

He didn't mean to lick his lips, but he found them dry, along with his mouth. His hands, however, seemed to be where the moisture had found its way; they were nearly dripping sweat. "It wasn't a line." She kept his gaze.

"Well, we should probably go, before mom shows up with all kind of questions."

"Probably too soon to meet mom," Chuck agreed. "But, I would be honored to meet her." The grin became a full-on smile.

"You play a dangerous game, Bartowski," she said, turning and tugging on him to follow her.

"No game, Sarah," he said, following out the door. They got back into the Jeep and she turned to him.

"Good," she said, starting the Jeep, and they took off. Chuck didn't say anything else; he wasn't sure his mouth could make any noises. She drove them to their destination, and cut the lights on her jeep before turning into the parking lot for the Ski Patrol headquarters.

Between that, and her making her way around to the mountain side of the building before using her keys to enter, Chuck was fairly certain that whatever they were about to get up to was something that could get Sarah in trouble if they were caught. When she tossed him a motorcycle helmet, he was again fairly certain that whatever they were about to get up to was going to be way outside of his comfort zone, even if they weren't caught.

Sarah was strapping on her own helmet with one hand, as she grabbed a key on a lanyard with the other. She then flashed him a smile that was equal parts excitement and mischievousness, before grabbing him by the hand and leading him back outside. Moments later, Sarah started up a snowmobile, trying in vain to keep it as quiet as possible. "Climb on Chuck," she said, while patting the seat behind her.

Chuck did as instructed, but out of courtesy to Sarah, left some space between them. Sarah was having none of that, grabbing his hand and pulling him flush against her, before grabbing his other hand and wrapping his arms around her waist. Both were very conscious of the fact that it was a reversed position from the private ski school lesson earlier.

"What's good for the goose, huh?" Chuck asked.

"You are going to need to hold on tight," Sarah shouted over the rumble of the engine. "It's going to get pretty steep after a bit. And I don't want to have to search for you in the dark." She then shot him a wink. "At least not out here on the trails."

Chuck made some sort of noise as his brain started to reboot, but enough of it was functioning to grab tight when she shot the snowmobile up the mountain. She didn't turn the light on so as not to give away their position, although the engine seemed loud enough to Chuck that he doubted anyone would have any difficulty finding them.

True to her word, the snowmobile was soon going up a sharp incline. If Chuck hadn't been holding tight, he definitely would have been dumped off the back of the snowmobile. Sarah pulled up to a First Aid station near the summit of Squaw Peak, and shut off the snowmobile. She had to wait a moment for the tingling sensation in her legs to go away. She had only been partly teasing Chuck about holding on tight, but the sensation of Chuck spooning up behind her had been just as powerful as when she had done the same to him on the bunny slope.

The two got off the snowmobile and made their way over where Sarah used another key to open the door of the station, and quickly got to work making two hot chocolates in the microwave. They weren't as silky smooth as the peppermint patties from the party, but they were chocolate, and both she and Chuck could use the warmth after the cold snowmobile ride in the dark.

"Come on," she said softly, handing Chuck his drink. The two stepped outside, and Sarah led him to what she wanted him to see. The view took Chuck's breath away, pleasing Sarah greatly. She loved skiing, using the mountain and gravity to propel her down at breakneck speeds. But she also loved the view from the atop of mountains. Chuck saw the whole bowl of the ski area, including the lodge and resort, with Lake Tahoe in the distance. He was pretty sure that he could even pick out the Woodcomb chalet.

Sarah bumped her shoulder against Chuck. "So, what do you think of my plan now?"

"This… this is incredible," Chuck said as he looked around the majestic scene. He then turned to Sarah, and promptly forgot about the beauty of nature. She was leaning against him with a pleased smile on her face. Chuck had already lost count of the number of times that he had decided that Sarah had never looked more beautiful, but this Sarah, relaxed and in her element, was now his new favorite.

"I know that you aren't big on being trapped by tradition," Sarah said softly, "but I may have swiped this from Jeff on the way out." She then held the mistletoe over their heads.

"Who am I to stand in the way of tradition?" Chuck murmured as he bent his head to capture Sarah's lips in a kiss.

Sarah realized that while she loved hot chocolate, the taste of hot chocolate from Chuck's lips was by far the best.

}o{

"Are you going to sleep your life away on this vacation?" he heard Ellie say, as he fought to open his eyes. She was standing in his room, her hands on her hips, a smile on her face. "Where were you last night? I mean, I said no regrets, but I didn't think you'd actually do that."

A head popped through the doorframe. "Way to go bro," Devon said, disappearing just as quickly.

"It's not like that," Chuck argued, but there was a smile on his face and he thought he could detect the faint taste of peppermint and chocolate.

"Chuck?" Ellie said, a grin growing. "Did… did you meet someone?"

"I sort of went on a date last night," Chuck admitted.

Ellie sat on his bed quickly. "Chuck… I haven't seen you smile like this in… I don't know when."

Chuck almost stopped himself from asking what was on his mind, but he needed to know; he needed the truth. "Even when I was with Jill?"

"Even when you were with Jill, little brother," Ellie confirmed. Chuck ran a hand through his hair. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Chuck replied. "It's just… I've been realizing a lot of things."

"Talk to me."

"El… El, I'm tired of… well… my everyday grind. I mean, I know I need a vacation, but… I checked my email twice yesterday. Each time I had twenty to thirty missed emails, but as I read them, I realized people were taking care of the problems."

"You hired good people," Ellie replied.

"I know," Chuck agreed. "They don't need me, and frankly… frankly, I'm tired. I'm worn out from putting out fires I don't need to be fighting. This place… there's peace here. There's… a stillness."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying since Jill cheated on me the first time, I've been existing. I've been doing what I thought I should do, what I think I should do. El, I live in an apartment in Echo Park, across from my sister. I'm twenty-six years old, and I'm just existing."

"Oh, thank _God_!" Ellie replied, making Chuck's eyes go wide. "Listen-" and his phone went off. "Is it her?" Chuck reached over and grabbed it. He looked back to Ellie, a stupid grin on his face. "Answer it."

"Hello," he said. A look of confusion appeared on his face, and he looked up at Ellie.

"It's for you."

}o{

"Awesome," Devon said having been introduced to everyone.

Emma had insisted Sarah call Chuck, so Emma could invite everyone to breakfast. She wanted to get to know the family that made her daughter smile like she had never seen her smile. They had met at a little hole in the wall in Truckee called the Donner Lake Kitchen.

"Seriously, don't I have to ask?" Chuck began.

"No," Sarah said, placing her hand on his, shaking her head and chuckling. Two sets of eyes watched them, and then those two sets then locked with each other and mutually smiled.

"But," Chuck began again.

"They aren't serving _people_, Chuck," Sarah said in a dramatic whisper, trying to keep from laughing.

"But you haven't asked," Chuck retorted.

"Welcome to Donner Lake Kitchen," the waitress said. "And we do _not_ serve dead people here," she said, with a very pointed look at Chuck. The entire table laughed.

The group ordered their meal and talked, but everyone noticed that Chuck and Sarah were in their own little world. Ellie and Emma shared a look, then looked at the couple.

"So, Emma, I was wondering if you and your family had any plans tonight?" Chuck and Sarah both stopped talking and turned slowly toward Ellie.

"I don't have any plans, do you Sarah?" Emma asked.

"Uh… well… not yet, but I was going to ask Chuck if he wanted to spend some time together tonight," Sarah replied, glancing at Chuck.

"Perfect," Ellie said, clasping her hands together. "I want to invite your family to Christmas Eve dinner at the chalet. It will be great, won't it, Chuck?"

"Oh, yeah," Chuck replied, widening his eyes at Sarah, making her giggle. "Great!"

}o{

Sarah had gone with her mom and sister for some last-minute shopping and to attend an early Christmas Eve service at church. They invited Chuck to come with them, but Chuck knew Sarah needed to get some things done, and she was likely to be distracted by him. Ellie and Devon headed back to the lodge to ski, while Chuck stayed in Truckee for a bit. Something about the small community just made him feel at ease about everything.

Chuck returned to the chalet that afternoon, and that evening Sarah and her family arrived. They had their meal together, and Ellie, being about as subtle as a chain saw, asked Emma if she and Devon could give her a tour of the chalet. Chuck and Sarah had taken Molly to the living room, sitting in front of the circular fireplace in the center of the room.

Between the excitement of meeting new people, the house with a million and one places to explore, the excitement over Christmas being a few hours away, along with her bedtime approaching and her entire routine for the day being broken, Molly was becoming fussy. Sarah had dealt some with her younger sister at night, but never when she was in this state. Chuck watched Sarah begin to panic, as she looked around for Emma.

"May I," Chuck asked gently, with a nod of his head in Molly's direction.

Sarah sat back, looking from Chuck to Molly and back, wondering what he had in mind. She had no idea what to do, and she trusted Chuck. She made the easiest decision in her life.

"Be my guest."

Chuck got up from the sofa to walk over to the plush chair where Molly was tossing and turning. "Miss Molly, would you like to see the Christmas tree? I know it's not a real one, but it's still pretty." He held out his hands, and after a moment's hesitation, Molly climbed up into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder.

Chuck walked her over to the tree in the corner of the room, letting her reach out and play with the ornaments, as he gently stroked her hair. She turned to him, gave him a toothy grin, and went back to the ornaments. Chuck began to hum a familiar tune to Molly, _O Little Town of Bethlehem._

When he was done, Molly turned to him. "More, please."

Chuck grinned at her, and began to sing _Silent Night_ to Molly in a gentle, soothing voice. Sarah's eyes went wide at his voice. Things she wasn't aware of moved and shifted in her. And as Chuck sang, 'all is calm, all is bright', Sarah, still watching and listening from her perch on the sofa, leaned her head to one side and let out a "nnnnrrgh" sound.

Unbeknownst to her, Ellie and Emma had just entered the room, having heard Chuck starting in on Christmas carols. Sarah jumped when she suddenly heard their voices directly behind her.

"So, Ellie. You are a doctor. Any idea what would cause my daughter to make a sound like that?" Emma worked hard to keep a straight face, although her eyes were dancing with mischief.

Ellie played right along. "Well, I'd probably have to run some tests to confirm the diagnosis, but I'm pretty sure that her ovaries just exploded."

Sarah whipped her head around to look at the two women, her eyebrows approaching her hairline, and her eyes bulging. She didn't know what was worse; what they had just said, or the fact that she was pretty sure Chuck had heard as well, given the sudden silence on the far side of the room.

"Oh dear," Emma said, shaking her head. "The poor thing. Maybe Chuck can sing her some more carols and she will feel… better?"

"MOM!" Sarah silently mouthed in horror. She bolted from the room, chased away by the sound of laughter from Ellie and Emma. Without bothering to grab her jacket, Sarah fled out of the front door. She reached into her pocket for her cell phone, and quickly dialed a number.

"Z. It's Sarah. I need immediate evac. I'll text you the coordinates."

On the other end of the line, Zondra sucked in a breath. "Sarah, what's wrong? Where are you? Are you safe? What am I saying, you're with String-Bean… you can take out String-Bean, no problem. Is _he_safe?"

Sarah shook her head, before realizing that her friend wouldn't be able to see her. "Mom took Molly and me to an early Christmas Eve service at church, so that we could have dinner with Chuck, Ellie and Awesome."

"Awesome? What's an awesome?" Zondra asked, trying to figure out what in the hell was going on with her friend, nearly certain Sarah was not in life-threatening danger.

"Ugh. Devon. Ok? Is that better? Dinner with Chuck, Ellie and Devon. Can we focus on what's important here?" Sarah cried out in exasperation.

"Oh, I am," Zondra replied, forcing down her laughter through sheer determination. That would come after she hung up. "So, what is wrong?"

"Mom abandoned me to hang out with Ellie, and Molly started getting fussy. Chuck volunteered to calm her down, and then he started singing," Sarah spouted off, rapid fire.

"He's got his damn nerve," Zondra replied, using all her skills not to laugh. "Was it horrible?"

"Uuuugh, his singing. God, it should be illegal. It was like angels descended and were singing." Zondra pulled the phone away from her ear to verify the number that called her was, in fact, Sarah Walker's. She shook her head after verifying it, and resumed listening.

"Then Mom and Ellie sneak up behind me, and Ellie said that my ovaries had exploded, and Chuck must have heard them, and _I need extraction! Right now!_"

The last bit caused Zondra to lose the battle. _ At least I tried_, she thought, just before doubling over in a fit of laughter.

"Dammit Z, you are supposed to be on my side," Sarah pouted.

"Girl, I _am_ on your side. Let me get this straight: You want _me_ to ditch Cole Barker at a Christmas party, because you finally found a guy who makes you feel like a real girl?"

"Yes," she said weakly, realizing exactly how it sounded.

"Nope," Zondra replied. "I don't think so. You are on your own for this one. Well, not your own, since Chuck is there…"

Sarah mashed her finger down on the button to end the call, grumbling about treason and traitors. She would just call a ride service. Surely someone from uber or Lyft was out working on Christmas Eve? Hell, at this point, she'd take the Pony Express… or did they just handle mail? Sarah growled in frustration. At this point, she didn't care. She had to get the hell out of here.

She needed a minute… didn't they understand? Didn't they know what she had planned for him tonight… well, of course they didn't, because she hadn't told anyone. Sarah was terrified. She was in a position she had never been in her life. For someone who went down mountains at insane speeds, she was certain she had _never_ been this scared.

"Sarah," Chuck softly called behind her. Her eyes went wide. Of course he would follow her out, and check on her wellbeing. "Are you ok? You took off in a big hurry."

The concern in his voice was clear. Guilt and abject mortification battled for supremacy in Sarah. Chuck had done nothing wrong – more like everything right – but she dreaded facing him, after he heard what her mom and Ellie had said. He didn't deserve for her to run away, much less for her to run away without an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Chuck," Sarah said, her back still to him. How was it that she could stare down the steepest ski slopes in the world, often in cloudy or foggy conditions, without fear, yet facing Chuck to explain her behavior made her skittish? "I'm afraid I'm not very good at all of this."

Sarah turned to see a confused expression on Chuck's face. "Dating. Not to say that we are dating. It's just, we went to the staff Christmas party together. Then the midnight kiss at the ski patrol station. And now we just had Christmas Eve dinner together… which makes it sound like we're dating. _Are_ we dating, Chuck?"

* * *

A/N: Well, Chuck, are you? Wait….shouldn't I know the answer to this? Problem is this is the end of what Dillwg has sent me in typed out dialog, so now I'VE got to take it from here with only a *looks down* page full of notes….I know, it's a Christmas Eve fluff hanger. I am so terrible. I should get coal in my stocking. So what do you think, are they dating? What did Sarah have planned for tonight? What happens next? Why are you still writing this A/N and not working on the next chapter? See you soon.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	6. Ch 6, Are We Dating?

A/N: So here's how this chapter went. I'd write a section, send it to Dillwg to see what he thought. Sometimes he'd have thoughts, sent them over, and I'd incorporate them. He's going to insist it's not that much, but he gives me some great ideas I just run with. So Chuck…what's your answer? Are you dating?

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

* * *

Chuck stood there, looking like a deer in headlights, processing Sarah's question. She gave him a sad smile and shook her head. "I know, no regrets, right?" Chuck, finding bravery he didn't know, shot his hand out to grab her wrist before she could move.

"I'm sorry," he managed to get out. "My brain… see…" He took a deep breath. "I'm trying to understand how someone as amazing as you could be… well… even remotely interested in dating someone like me… I mean, you _are_ interested, right?"

The past few days played through her head, and she thought about how all the things she had wanted with Bryce, or any man for that matter, were right here in front of her. A man that was kind, not full of himself, that made her laugh, smile, and respected her for her. A man who made her sister happy, a man who had a voice that made her ovaries explode when he sang.

The fear of not knowing how to do... _this__…_ left her. The thought of having that chance pushed the fears down inside. She knew she'd have to deal with them at some point, but right now, she had work to do, and she needed to do some repair work on this relationship. Because it _was_ a relationship.

"Buddy, I am _definitely_ interested," she said, one part shocked at, and another part proud of, herself. Chuck's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes widened. He seemed to mentally shake himself, and then a slow grin began to cover his face.

"Are you sure?" he asked, the grin growing. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he held his hands up, as if in surrender. "I mean, are you sure you know what you're getting into?" She couldn't help but twist her lips to avoid smiling at him. He was up to something, and sure enough, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I am a nerd," he said, typing something into his phone. "I mean, I might do stuff like this, sometimes." He cleared his throat. "_Dating: to go out with someone in whom one is romantically or sexually interested_."

"Oh," she said after he read the definition. "Well, in that case, I am absolutely sure." Chuck's grin grew into a smile.

"I feel this is one of those moments that, by tradition, I am forced to kiss you."

"Forced?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure I can suffer through it," he replied, leaning in towards her.

"I'll do my best to make it as painless as possible," she deadpanned, and then he was kissing her. It started out soft, but grew in intensity quickly. She cupped his face in her hands, and as she opened her lips, her tongue snaked its way into his mouth. He held her by her waist, gently but firmly, and she found herself moving closer, wrapping a leg around one of his. A moan escaped his lips, and something lit inside of her that she didn't know existed. Her hands made their way to the back of his neck, and she felt him pressed completely against her, their bodies molded to each other.

"Oh, God," Ellie said, making them jump apart. "I am _so_ sorry." She had her hands covering her mouth, and she was… vibrating? "I came out here to apologize but I seem to need to apologize more for interrupting."

"It's fine, Ellie, really," Sarah told her. "But, I'm gonna need a favor from you."

"What's that?" Ellie asked, her smile so big Sarah thought it might break her face.

"I need to borrow this one for a while," Sarah began.

"We leave New Year's Day, so just bring him back to say goodbye before we leave," Ellie said, with a grin.

"ELLIE!" Chuck hissed.

"Chuck, you're a big boy, and she's a big girl. You two do what you want, and just have fun." And with that, Ellie took off.

"God, I'm sorry, Sarah," Chuck began.

"What are you sorry for? Ellie just gave me permission to do whatever I want with my boyfriend while he's here," Sarah said with a grin, but there was a touch of sadness on her face. Chuck knew exactly what for. He would have to leave one day soon.

"Wait, two things," Chuck began, trying to bring back humor and push out the bad thoughts. "Who's this boyfriend of yours?" She reached over and flirtatiously poked him in the chest. "Oh," he said, a stupid grin on his face. "And… whatever?" She shrugged cutely, and Chuck thought his head might explode. "I need to apologize about earlier," Chuck began.

"Chuck, it's not your fault what my mother and Ellie said," Sarah interrupted.

"Oh, I wasn't apologizing about that, I was apologizing about making your ovaries explode," Chuck replied, straight-faced. Sarah's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide.

"Oh, you are gonna get it," Sarah muttered, dropping down, beginning to make a snowball.

"OH boy!" Chuck replied, beginning to run away. The next thing he knew a round missile hit him in the back of the head, knocking him headfirst into the snow.

"Got anything else smart to say, nerd-boy?" she asked, humor in her tone. Chuck rolled over, and looked up at her. The moon was behind her, and she was haloed by a soft light was all around her.

"God, your beautiful," he said softly. It had just slipped out, but her face softened and suddenly she pounced on top of him. "Sarah, it's _cold_."

"Let me warm you up then," she replied. He didn't say anything for a while.

}o{

"And why were you in the snow and need to change your clothes, and Sarah wasn't?" Ellie asked, a smile on her face.

"Because Sarah was on top of me, okay," Chuck replied, heading to his room to change. He stopped as he realized what he said, and turned toward the three women. Ellie's eyes were huge, Emma's mouth was open, and Sarah was grinning.

"I have nothing to apologize for," Sarah said with a shrug. "I got what I wanted." Both women turned to her and Chuck fled. All three burst out laughing. Sarah sobered first. "Or maybe I do," she muttered under her breath. "Ellie," she began, her tone that of one about to apologize.

"Oh, God, don't you dare apologize or anything, Sarah," Ellie said, pulling her into a hug. "I told you to have him back before we leave, and I meant it. I've never seen him this happy in his life, and if that means I miss out on some Christmas time with my brother, I am okay with it."

"Yeah," she said, solemnly.

Ellie pulled away and looked at her. "How about you enjoy this week, and worry about _that_ when the time comes?" Everyone knew that Ellie meant that one day soon, Chuck would be leaving.

"You've always lived in the moment, Sarah," Emma added. "What's the big deal now?"

"Because I've never had a lot... romantically... to look forward to," Sarah admitted. Ellie and Emma exchanged a look. Ellie reached over and squeezed Sarah's arm.

"All of you are welcomed back here tomorrow if you want," Ellie said with a grin, trying to change the subject. "All we do is hang out in pjs, eat, and watch The Twilight Zone."

"You sure?" Emma asked. "Because... well... Molly sort of loves it here."

"Absolutely," Ellie said. She took a deep breath and started to speak, when Sarah beat her to it.

"I know, if we can work it into our schedule, I should drop by with him?" Sarah asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"That's the spirt," Ellie said, hugging her again. "You two will figure it out, if you want to," she whispered into Sarah's ear.

"I think I'd like that," Sarah replied softly.

"I know he does," Ellie said pushing away and holding onto Sarah's shoulders. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sarah asked.

"For being you," Ellie replied with a smile. "For caring about him as a person." Sarah had no idea how to respond to that.

}o{

Sarah found herself outside a few moments later, staring into the night sky, watching the light snow fall. She had triple-checked the weather, and there was no sign of any huge snowfalls. She took a deep breath, grabbed her phone, and made the call.

"Thought you'd chicken out," came the gruff voice. As much as Casey wanted to be an ass at times, she caught what was in the undertone.

"You sure this is still okay? Lon's not gonna give you shit over it?" Sarah asked.

"He might," Casey replied, and Sarah felt his shrug, making her grin. "But, someone has to ski the lights to make sure they work properly, and usually no one wants to. We'll keep the part about Bartowski going with you on the DL."

"Gertrude is right there beside you, isn't she?" Sarah asked, nearly chuckling. A grunt was the only response she got, but she knew that grunt, and it was an affirmative. "Weather okay?"

There was a pause, and Sarah was concerned. "Everything says nothing but a light snow," Casey replied.

"Casey," Sarah replied, the warning in her voice evident.

"Listen, you know my knee," Casey began.

"I do," Sarah agreed.

"It don't agree with the reports." Sarah wasn't pleased with that response. Casey's knee was never wrong. "But, it's an old-wives-tale about the joints knowing about weather."

"Well, you're an old wife, so that works," Sarah said playfully.

"I don't know why I ever tell you anything," Casey muttered. There was silence for a moment. "Walker, keep your ear piece in, okay?"

"Solid copy," Sarah replied. "Thanks, Casey."

"I'm only doing it because Gertrude made me."

"Uh-huh," she said with a grin, and then she heard a dial tone. She'd made Casey hang up on her. It was a holly jolly Christmas, indeed.

}o{

"So let me get this right; you want me to ski, with you, in the dark?" Chuck asked, as they got to the starting point on the top of the mountain.

"Not exactly," Sarah said with a grin. She touched her earpiece. "Casey, hit it," she said, and then touched it again to turn it off. She turned to watch his face. She had seen the lights many times, but to see his face light up as the lights lining the ski slope lit up, was a wonder to behold. Something deep within her moved, and she had to bite her lip before she made the noise she had earlier in the evening.

"Sarah…" he said, turning to her. "You could lose your job over this."

"Worth it," she said softly, and then shook her head. "Eh, probably not," she continued, downplaying what she had done. Could Lon fire her for this? Maybe, but only because Chuck was with her. If he did, she's have to go somewhere else… like Echo Park… again she shook her head, getting those thoughts out of her mind. "We have to 'test' the lights and I volunteered."

A slow grin spread across his face. "So, Sarah Walker… is this business… or pleasure?"

She grinned back at him. "If you don't fall down 43 times… pleasure."

"So, 42 is my goal. Got it," he said, lowering the goggles over his eyes and smiling at her. "Can we do this side by side?"

"I don't know Chuck… can you keep up?"

"Probably not," he admitted.

"I'll go slow and easy," she assured him.

"For the record, we are talking about skiing, right?" and he pushed off, while Sarah's mouth dropped.

"I'm coming for you, Bartowski!" she yelled. Chuck didn't reply but those words were not the threat she made them out to be. It was a green trail, which made sense; you didn't want to try a black diamond at night to look at the lights. Chuck found the skiing… freeing.

"Sarah, this is awesome!" he yelled back to her. Suddenly she was right beside him, a smile on her face that seemed to melt the snow and warm him. Was this how she felt when she skied?

"How about you watch the light and the snow and not me?" she asked. "That's what we're here for, you know."

"Sorry," Chuck replied. "I can't help it, you keep distracting me with your beauty." Chuck did as he was told, and it was probably best, because the look on Sarah's face was two-fold. On one part, there was shock; on the other, there was a hunger, like a lion ready to pounce its next meal.

As they came to the bottom of the slope, Chuck couldn't stop smiling. The lights, the freedom of skiing, Sarah… he looked around. "What the hell have I been doing with my life?" he muttered to himself. He had hidden himself in an office, in his work. He had also hidden himself in his relationship with Jill. He had told her that he had forgiven her for cheating on him.

But had he really forgiven her? Could he have just put that pain behind him? Chuck had a glimpse of life without Jill shortly after their first breakup. For his birthday, Ellie had invited every unattached woman she knew to a surprise birthday party for him. Before the cheating scandal, Ellie had been cool towards Jill, never really understanding the relationship. But afterwards? The two women had avoided each other as much as possible, without being overtly rude to the other.

Had his reunion with Jill been more about escape from Ellie's matchmaking, as it had actually enjoying being back together with Jill? He had suggested they move in, with the next logical step being marriage. Looking back, it seemed more like a five-year plan, instead of love:

_Girlfriend – check! _

_Marriage – check! _

_Children – check!_

That wouldn't have been fair to him, not fair to Jill, and especially not fair to any kids, if they wound up having them. Was he substituting convenience for commitment? Compatibility for love? His time with Sarah had already developed into something much more fundamental than what he'd ever had in years with Jill.

There was so much that he didn't know about Sarah. But after only a few days, he already knew that rather than just approaching this as a 'no regrets' relationship where they would just go their separate ways after the New Year, Chuck wanted to learn anything that she wanted to share. Favorite movie. Favorite band. Did she already have a life bucket list? What was on it that he could help with?

Jill had her work with molecular biology. Chuck hadn't had a natural aptitude for it, so he just left it to her as her thing apart from them. He certainly didn't have a natural aptitude for skiing, but any time not spent with Sarah had been spent learning about skiing. The physics behind it. The history of the sport. And, most importantly, the history of Sarah Walker in the sport.

He already loved the freedom that he experienced with skiing, but more so, the joy of skiing with Sarah. Both were unlike anything that he'd ever experienced in his life. And the more he got, the more he wanted. Especially when it came to skiing with Sarah. This was the opposite of hiding. This was embracing life. This was embracing a connection with the most amazing woman he had ever met. Right that moment, an arm snaked around him, and with agility that surprised himself, he turned and managed to kiss her, without knocking himself, or her, down. He would change himself and his life, but that would have to take place another day. Right now, he was embracing his time with Sarah. When she went back to work, or back to her mom and Molly, he could evaluate how to start changing his life. But as she was spending her free time between ski school lessons with him, she was going to be his sole focus. She deserved nothing less, and so did he.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"For letting me be part of your world, to _really_ let me in," he said, smiling at her.

"Chuck, all I did was ski with you," she protested.

"Sarah Walker, you can say whatever you want, but I saw the joy on your face, not the determined face you put on when you skied competitively."

"Wait," Sarah interrupted. "I thought you hadn't seen me ski?"

"I might have looked at some videos on YouTube," Chuck admitted. Sarah looked at him through her lashes. "I might have looked at a lot of videos on YouTube?" She grinned at him. "_Fiiiiiiine_, I looked at _so_ many videos of you on YouTube. Do you feel stalked?"

"Yeah, and you caught me," she said, her voice going a little sultry. Chuck swallowed. "Now what are you gonna do with me?"

"Thank God I met you?" he offered. Her eyes went wide. "Sorry, that's probably-"

Her finger went to his lips. "Shh," she said softly as she moved toward him. "No regrets."

"None," he said, as he kissed her.

}o{

"Walker, you lost?" she heard in her ear piece. She couldn't help but giggle as she pulled away from Chuck. "Come on, we still have one more trail, and our light guy is getting grumpy."

"Was this the adorable gentleman who told me to take your ski class?" Chuck asked, getting an amused look from Sarah. Chuck shrugged. "He introduced me to you, so I'll always be indebted to him. Sort of like a wookie life-debt."

"You should tell him that," Sarah replied, trying to keep a straight face. "He'd love that."

"I will," Chuck proclaimed, as they began the ride up the mountain. At the top, Sarah looked around and didn't like the look of things. The snow was getting thicker, the clouds looked… ominous.

She went to hit her speaker when she heard Casey. "Walker! It's turning into a bad storm… don't go up the mountain, and if you're on the bottom, get off it!"

"Casey, it's Sarah, we're on top," she said.

"Christ," he muttered. "Okay, Walker, no kidding around, this is getting bad."

"Sarah, visibility is getting bad," Chuck said to her. Sarah turned to him. "We're okay, right?"

"Christ, Walker," Casey muttered. "Halfway down there's shelter. Get him there and try and wait it out."

"Understood," Sarah said, turning to Chuck, a steely look on her face.

"Uh oh," Chuck said. "I know that face. That's the face of the Ice Queen, the woman who's about to get serious."

"Trust me, Chuck?" she asked.

"Always," he replied softly. She nodded at him.

"Okay, remember how you and I skied together with me behind you?" Chuck nodded. "We're going to do the same thing, except you'll be behind me."

"Uh, Sarah…" Chuck began.

"Chuck, I'm going to be real with you right now… we're in a mess. And I know you are modest and try to be respectful, but I'm going to need you to hold on tight."

Chuck nodded. "Okay, whatever you say."

"Here's the thing: I don't think we can beat this down the mountain, so we're shooting for a patrol shed about halfway down."

Chuck nodded again, and began to position himself behind Sarah. She felt his arms wrap around her tight, his body pressed up against hers. "Are you ready?" she shouted, the wind getting ridiculous.

"Ready," he said into her ear. Sarah had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. Him, that close, his breath hitting her ear… she was ready as well…

"Here we go," she said, pushing off. Chuck held on as they picked up speed down the mountain. Like last time, Sarah's skis were on the outside, her guiding them down the mountain. Chuck could barely make out the lights, the snow was covering up their tracks quickly.

"You okay?" she yelled.

"No," he replied, and his honesty made her shoulders shake with laughter. "But I trust you." Suddenly she didn't feel so cold anymore. In fact, there was an inferno raging inside of her.

"It's just up ahead," she said. Internally she was thankful. Visibility was becoming nil, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep them from hitting a tree. They came to a stop in front of the shed, and in a few moments, they were inside. It wasn't huge, but it was safety. "Let me go start the electricity," she said, finding the generator and starting it. She returned to Chuck, and found him looking nervous. "We'll probably have to spend the night or a day or two together."

Chuck nodded, not able to look her in the eye.

"We're gonna have to sleep together for warmth, you realize."

Chuck looked up at her. "What if we are like that Donner party, that was stranded for weeks, and had to resort to cannibalism to survive? Because, let's face it. Out of the two of us, who is more likely to survive a blizzard? DQ Blizzard? I'm your man. Actual Mother-Nature blizzard with digging out from feet of snowfall? That's all you."

Sarah just stared at him. After a few seconds, she grabbed his arm and frog-marched him into the small kitchen. There, she opened a cupboard door and turned toward him. Chuck pressed his lips together, seeing all manner of canned food. "Sooooooo… no cannibalism?"

"Nope," she said, emphasizing the 'p'. "Although, I might nibble on your ear or lip a little," she said with a grin, walking out of the room. She couldn't help herself as she slapped him on the backside as she walked by.

"I deserved that," he yelped.

* * *

A/N: Christmas Eve… stuck in a shack… needing each other's warmth… *EDC turns to the camera and smiles* Hurry back.

A/N 2: For those of you who are wondering about the cannibal stuff…Google Donner party, but be warned, it is talking about cannibalism. Mid 1800's a party got caught, in a snowstorm, and to survive ate each other… and it just so happens this fic is taking place in that area.

A/N 3: Who the crap is supposed to be guarding EDC anyway?

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	7. Ch 7, Merry Christmas

A/N: *Smirks*

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

They were sitting side by side, in the single bed.

Chuck sat up against the wall, giving Sarah all the room he could. Their hips were touching, and Chuck was doing everything he could to ignore how close they were. Not because he didn't enjoy being close to her, but because things felt forced, and after what happened earlier tonight, he didn't want Sarah to feel uncomfortable. He was watching a digital clock across the room, waiting for it to turn from 11:59 to midnight.

"Merry Christmas, Sarah," Chuck said, grinning at her as it flicked to twelve.

"Merry Christmas, Chuck," she replied, and gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry the only thing I got you was stuck in here with me."

Chuck gave her a look. "So, you think us being in here is a bad thing?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "It's just… I wanted to give you something special."

"You have," Chuck replied. She looked at him, a stunned expression on her face. "You've given me two things. One, you seem to like me for me, and I don't know if anyone I ever dated felt that way about me." Her eyes went wide. She wondered how that could possibly be. How could anyone not like Chuck for Chuck?

His thoughts went back to Stanford, about how once Jill had told him she found Morgan weird. Hell, everyone found Morgan weird, but they loved the guy. Jill… Jill, he creeped out. Chuck had put his foot down about spending less time with Morgan, and Jill had made little remarks about how it was sad his friend meant more than his girlfriend.

Chuck gave himself a mental shake, and continued. "And you let me in, to see you, to meet the wonderful woman you are. A woman who teaches kids, who shares what she enjoys. One who lets her personality out on this mountain, and then you are kind enough to teach a hopeless man to ski."

"You barely know me," she replied. "How…"

"Sarah, we may not have known each other long, but you opened your heart to me, your life, your family… your world. You let me in. I was in a freaking relationship for years, and… we never let each other in. I feel closer to you than I ever did her, and, like a fool, I almost asked her to marry me."

"Why?" Sarah asked. Sarah found herself even more pissed at Jill, that this wonderful guy would propose to her. Sarah kept her face neutral, but inside a green jealous monster was growing quickly, like the Hank? No that wasn't right.

Chuck laid his head back against the wall, and stared at the ceiling. "Because I was supposed to?" He looked over at her and saw complete understanding. "Because I thought I was in love. But I wasn't… I was in love with the idea, and had found someone I thought was compatible, and someone I thought I needed."

"Maybe you did need her," Sarah offered. Inside she was fighting a battle. On one hand, she was glad he wasn't in love with her. On the other, it was obvious that there was something to them. She reminded herself that Chuck was what was important here. If she was significant enough for Chuck to nearly propose, she needed to do right by Chuck… even if it crushed her.

"No," Chuck disagreed shaking his head. "I've learned since what needing someone feels like." He sat there, quiet, as he realized what he had said and looked over at her. "Uh.."

She had a slight blush on her face as her hand took his. "I have had the same experience lately."

"Really?" he asked, the smile growing on his face.

"Mmmhmm," she replied, a matching smile growing on hers. "I'm kinda feeling a need right now."

"Those can be dangerous," he said, his face inching towards her.

"I like to live dangerously," she replied.

"Sounds like no regrets to me," Chuck said, stopping a few inches from her. She searched his eyes; he was leaving it all up to her.

"None," she replied, and moved in the rest of the way. Their lips met, and it was like fire hit gasoline. The kiss that began as slow and sensuous, quickly became needy. She pushed him back as she cupped his face, and his hands slid around her waist, his fingers playing with her skin where her shirt met her back. The touch of his fingers made her moan into his mouth, and pull away. He leaned up and kissed the pulse point on her neck, making her hiss. "God, don't stop," she moaned. He made the way up the side of her neck, as her hand slipped into his hair, buried in his curls.

"Sarah," he began.

"Chuck, please," she said, pleading. They pulled away, seeing the look in each other's eyes. He reached up, and gently pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "That's sweet, but I plan on having my hair all messed up," she told him, a smirk on her face.

"So… is that a challenge?" he asked.

"Are you up for it?" she asked, and he gave her a flat look, making her giggle. She removed her shirt and tossed it to the ground. "It's cold, Chuck. I think it's time you warmed me up." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her toward him. She ground her pelvis against him, making him groan. "Getting hot enough for you?" she asked, catching his bottom lip in her teeth, and gently moving her jaw.

"Good lord," he muttered, and then her face covered his. Clothes went flying, they bumped heads a few times, making them both laugh. "Sarah," he said, her under him, both their bodies feeling like they were on fire.

"I need you, Chuck," she said, looking right into his eyes and holding his gaze. She captured his lips with hers, and then they began to move as one.

}o{

Sarah lifted her head, feeling the cold come into the shack. "I see you had a good time," Gertrude said, leaning against the doorway.

"The best," Sarah answered. "Where's Casey?"

"Outside. Didn't want you to have to be uncomfortable being around him, in case he saw something he shouldn't," Gertrude replied.

"What if you see something you shouldn't?" Chuck asked, trying to hide under the covers.

"You don't have anything I haven't seen," Gertrude said with a shrug.

"You haven't seen _my_ anything," Chuck retorted. "But, seriously, thank you. That could have been weird for Sarah, having a male coworker see her like that."

Gertrude gave Sarah a look. All Sarah could do was shrug and smile.

"I'm gonna let you two get dressed, and no funny business. Casey is already pissy."

"Why is Casey pissy?" Sarah asked, already knowing the possibilities of why were endless.

Gertrude grinned. "When he went to tell Ellie you and Chuck were okay, she insisted we stay for Christmas."

"Oh boy," Chuck said, his eyes going wide.

}o{

With Sarah and Chuck safely back home, Sarah found herself pulled into a Bartowski Christmas, along with her family, Casey and Gertrude. Casey was in a good mood, but he did keep muttering he didn't know what she saw in the String Bean. Gertrude glared at him, but they all knew it was just Casey being Casey. Ellie decided to go all out with a feast due to the rescue, and Sarah felt a warmth in her she didn't know existed. Sarah tried to help, but was taken by the shoulders and marched to the couch, where Ellie forced her down right beside Chuck. Chuck threw an arm around her shoulders and Sarah snuggled against him, but not before giving Ellie a flat look.

"Who do you think you're kidding?" Ellie asked, and Sarah burst into laughter. Ellie headed back to the kitchen and the two sat there, silent, but enjoying the happiness neither had ever felt before.

"You know," Chuck began softly. "I know that Christmas is a time to count your blessings over the past year." Sarah pushed back a bit, so she could turn and look at him. "I've had plenty of blessings to count, between family with Ellie and Awesome, some good friend, my career." He looked her in the eye, and gently brushed back a stray hair from her forehead. "But this time in Squaw Valley?" He shook his head, a soft smile on his face. "This seems like it's almost too much of a blessing. Like, what did I do that was so great as to merit getting a girlfriend as incredible as you, as well as having Emma and Molly join our lives as well?"

Sarah beamed at him, feeling warm and content wrapped up in his arms. The glow of the fireplace, the newly opened presents scattered about the room all adding to her contentment. As she leaned back against his chest, taking a sip from the decadent hot chocolate that Ellie had made, the sense of warmth started to drain away. The thoughts began, and she didn't know how to make them stop.

Where did they go from here? Her life is on the ski slopes, his in LA. She knew Chuck's motto for the trip was 'no regrets', but how did they make that work? She needed Chuck in her life, but what kind of life would she have if she moved to Burbank? She couldn't really picture the world's pre-eminent cybersecurity software designer shoveling snow from his front walk in Truckee. This time with Chuck was truly a gift, but will that gift have to be returned to sender once his trip was over?

She looked over at him and realized he was here now, and she was as well. She pushed those thoughts away, but they stayed in the back of her mind, nipping at her.

Dinner was served, and as she sat with her family – because that's what it felt like – those thoughts went completely away, and she let her self be immersed. Christmas was now in full effect, and while there was plenty of room, as the evening went on Ellie and Emma couldn't help but notice how close Chuck and Sarah remained to each other.

"Not to make things too awkward," Ellie began as she slid up beside Chuck, just as Sarah was dragged away from him by Molly.

"Emphasis on _too_," Chuck deadpanned, turning towards her, and grinning.

"But if she wants to stay here tonight… that's okay," Ellie continued, ignoring him. Chuck looked down at the counter, as Ellie sipped her coffee, a grin on her face. "Or, if you want to go there…"

"Ellie…"

"Chuck, I'm not trying to be a busy body," she began.

Chuck shook his head. "No, I don't think you are," he replied. He looked around the room, and then to her, worry on his face.

"Uh oh," she said, straightening. "I know that look. Talk to me."

"I'm falling hard for her," Chuck said, concern on his face.

"Good," Ellie replied. Chuck's eyes went wide. "What? She's good for you, and little brother, let me add, I think you're good for her. You have gotten more out of your shell in the past several days than you did your entire relationship with Jill." She gave him a long look. "Chuck, you have a stupid amount of money. And while I respect that you don't want it to change you," she moved closer and her voice changed into a fierce whisper, "you are freaking living in an apartment across the courtyard from me!"

"Did you think Jill was with me for my money?" Chuck asked, his elbows on the counter, head turned toward her.

"No," Ellie replied. "Because you didn't have it when you two started. I think that was one thing that made it easier to stay, though." Ellie put the mug down in front of her. "You two made a good-looking couple at your shindigs. You two were physically compatible."

"You know I'm just as much at fault as she was," Chuck said, looking down at his hands.

"Chuck, you were more at fault," Ellie said. Chuck looked up at her, and she shrugged. "Did you never notice how you never said you miss her? You missed her companionship, you missed her being with you at events, because you two knew how to navigate those things." Chuck straightened a little, thinking about what she said. "When was the last time you thought, 'I can't wait to see her'?"

Chuck was silent for a moment. "I have no idea," he admitted.

"When was the last time you thought, 'I can't wait to see her' about Sarah?" Ellie asked with a grin.

Chuck looked down at his wrist that didn't have a watch on it. "When did she get dragged away by Molly?" he asked with a grin. Ellie shoulder bumped him. "You know… Sacramento isn't far from here…"

"It's not," Ellie agreed. "But, that's your decision, baby brother. It's time for you to fly." She looked at Chuck grinning at her. "I mean…it _is_ a tech-driven city."

"It is, but I don't think I want to live in the city anymore," Chuck replied. Ellie held his gaze. "And since I came here, I've been having those thoughts. I'm not saying this because of Sarah."

"I know," Ellie replied. "I know you're tired of the life of hustling and bustling. You can do it, but you're a lot like dad, in that you're low key in a lot of ways." She paused. "You going to tell her?"

"I don't know, that could be a bit much," Chuck replied. "Does… does she want more than just… this?" Ellie gave him a flat look. "I mean, give me a break, she's freaking amazing."

"Who's amazing?" Sarah asked, coming back to the counter, and leaning on it like the other two, a smirk on her face.

"Molly," Chuck replied, straight faced.

"She really is," Sarah agreed.

"But I'm pretty sure she learned all of it from her amazing older sister," Chuck said, looking directly into her eyes. Sarah blushed and turned away. "Two can play at this game."

She turned back to him and looked at him through her lashes. "So, this is a game?"

"This… this flirting we are doing?"

Ellie snorted, and nearly blew her coffee threw her nose.

"Yeah, that's a game." His voice lowered, and he gave her a heated look. "How I feel about you, though… no game." Ellie's eyes went big and she turned and walked away from the counter.

"Careful, Chuck," Sarah said, dangerously.

"I'm not scared of you… I am scared I'll hurt you," he admitted.

"I'm scared I'll hurt you," she admitted.

"Listen, I need to-" they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Chuck watched Ellie walk over to the door, and open it. They were all surprised to see Lon Kirk. "Is Mr. Bartowski home?" he asked. Ellie looked over at Chuck as he came to the door. Lon offered Chuck his hand, which he shook. "Mr. Bartowski I am _so_ sorry about what happened on the slopes last night. I have talked all day with my lawyers, and I would like to assure you, we have made the necessary arrangements that this will never happen again."

Chuck looked confused. "I'm not suing, I'm not upset."

Lon shrugged. "Nevertheless, I will be terminating all those involved with the stunt pulled last night. Tomorrow morning, I'll let Mr. Casey and Miss Walker clean out their belongings, and they are done at the lodge."

"I don't want them fired!" Chuck yelled.

Lon gave a nasty grin, a shrug, turned and walked away. Chuck turned back to everyone. Casey's jaw was set but Sarah… Sarah looked like someone had slapped her. "Sarah," he began.

"It's not your fault," Sarah said, walking over to him and squeezing his hands. "But I need some time to think, okay?" Chuck nodded and watched Sarah walk out the door.

* * *

A/N: I know, it was short, but… I had to have a cliffhanger somehow.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	8. Ch 8, Ski Patrol

A/N: THE POLL HAS SPOKEN! I am posting this before the 24 hour thingy so...I have seen most of you with a thought of what will happen. You're all wrong, but I will admit I leaned that way for a bit. I think you'll love this. I'll shut up now, Ch 8, Ski Patrol

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

Sarah heard the door open and checked the clock on the wall. "Mom?" she called out. Emma strolled into view. "Where's Molly?"

"With Chuck," Emma answered. Sarah looked as though she might melt, collapse, and cry all at the same time. "Which is where you _should_ be."

"I can't, and that's what no one gets," she said, her voice wavering. "I've never had a real relationship. I've never been with someone that cares about me, and it isn't just convenient, or just fun or…" She looked at her mom with desperation in her eyes. "I don't know how to do this, and I can't be what he needs."

"What are you talking about? And don't just regurgitate these vague terms. What is going on?"

Sarah grabbed her right arm with her left hand, tears threatening to pour. "I'm not selfless enough," she said softly. "You know, like in the story the Magic Gift?"

Emma gave her a look. "The Magic Gift?" she repeated and then it dawned on her. "You meant the Gift of the Magi?"

"See," she said, looking defeated. "I can't even get that right." Emma sucked both her lips into her mouth as her body started to shake. "What?"

"Oh, honey," Emma answered, laugher fighting its way through. "I have waited _years_ for you to meet him."

"Chuck?" Sarah asked. "But you don't even know him."

"I didn't know his name, but I knew there was someone out there that was going to rock your world, and dear… your world is _rocked_… _shaken_… you are crazy about him."

Tears came to Sarah's eyes. "And you think you're not good enough." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact. She knew that about her daughter.

She sat down on the couch, and patted the cushion beside her. Sarah sat, and Emma pulled her in, holding her with one arm, stroking her hair with the other. "I need you to give me a moment to enjoy this." Sarah started to pull away. "No, not your misery, honey… the day you found him."

"You act like I'm getting married or something, and I can't, because I'm too selfish!"

Emma chuckled. "I need to know how you figure that?"

Sarah let out a huff. "I will admit, I've been thinking about moving to Burbank."

"At least you admitted it," Emma muttered. Sarah raised her head and gave her mother a dirty look. "I'm sorry, go ahead."

"But… what would I do there?" She sat up again, tears in her eyes. "Mom, I can't, I'd resent him, and I'd try to find a job doing what I love somewhere else." Emma just sat there smiling at her, amused. "What?"

"Did Chuck ever ask you to give up being a ski instructor?"

"Well, no-"

"Did Chuck ever ask you to move to Burbank?"

"No-"

"Did you tell Chuck any of this?"

"NO!" Sarah shouted, frustrated. "I can cut my damn hair off for him, it will grow back!"

"And that watch was a possession, not a career," Emma retorted.

Sarah sat there, speechless. She blinked a few times and then she gave her mother a look of amazement. "So… you're saying…"

"I'm saying that story was talking about sacrificing _things_ for each other… not careers, not livelihoods, not something that is your joy and passion. Sarah, you're scared."

"I'm freaking terrified!"

"You're also a bit of an idiot," Emma continued. Sarah's eyes went wide. "I'm not the one that needs to know these things." Her eyes went even wider, and then she jumped up. "Go." Sarah burst out the door and then she burst back in, and squeezed Emma with all her might.

"Thank you!" she said, and then she was gone again.

"Wait until she sees what Chuck is up to," she muttered to herself, grinning.

}o{

"Chuck, what are you doing?" Ellie asked, holding Molly as the girl studied the Christmas tree.

"Seeing how much Lon Kirk really owns," Chuck replied. "Seems like he holds the majority of the interest in the group that owns the lodge at 30%, so I'm trying to see if I can buy up 31%." He looked up and blinked. "But… but you already knew that, because I told you and Emma earlier."

"Chuck, I know what you are doing. My question is, what are you _doing?_" Chuck blinked, confusion on his face. She sighed and shook her head. "Baby brother, have you thought maybe you should talk this over with Sarah?"

"She said she wanted some privacy-"

"No, she said she needed some time alone. And, it's been some time," Ellie corrected. "_Maybe_ you should talk to her."

"But, Ellie, I don't want her to have to give up her hair." Ellie stared at him. "The Gift of the Magi?"

"Oh, I know, but you're sort of making my point." Chuck blinked. "Maybe she doesn't want you to spend… wait, could you actually do it?"

"What, buy the 31%? Yeah. I mean, things would be a little tight, but… I could."

"And what, have her run the place?" Chuck looked away. "Yeah, that's no pressure at all on a relationship."

"What do you want me to do?"

"_Talk. To. Her._" The door opened as Ellie said that and she turned to see who was walking in.

"You told me earlier, that I didn't need to knock," Sarah said as an explanation.

"You don't," Ellie replied. "I think I'm going to take your sister home."

"Don't let me run you off," Sarah began.

"You're not," Ellie assured her. "But Devon's asleep, I'm wide awake, and you two need to work on your communication skills."

"We do," Sarah agreed, looking over at Chuck. "I'm terrible-"

"Whoa," Ellie said. "First, not my business, and second, _he_ has his own issues."

"I do," Chuck agreed. Ellie smiled at them both, and headed outside. "Uh, Ellie, car seat?"

"Duh," Ellie said, shaking her head.

"I'll go get mine out of my vehicle," Sarah said, leading Molly and Ellie outside. Chuck went back to the counter to look over all the numbers he had written down. He let out a huff just as Sarah walked back inside. "Whatcha' doin' Chuck?" she asked.

"Trying to figure out a way to get a bigger ownership of the group that owns the lodge than Lon Kirk," he replied, never lifting his head. He heard the silence and felt the uneasiness. He lifted his head and saw her face covered in shock. "What's wrong?"

"You can't do that," she insisted.

"Why not? Because of me, you and Casey are getting fired," Chuck retorted.

"Because I don't want you spending your money on this," Sarah replied. "Do you even have that kind of money?" Chuck pressed his lips together, and nodded. Sarah's hand went to her lips. "Oh my God," she muttered.

"Sarah, it's not fair," he began.

"Of course it's not fair," Sarah said. "I love my job, I love what I do, and I know one day, physically I won't be able to. But right now, I want to. And I care about you, I do, but I don't want to live in Burbank."

"Who the hell asked you to live in Burbank?" Chuck asked, baffled. "Did Ellie?"

"No, but you want me to," Sarah said, and then she went quiet. "Don't you?" she asked softly and shyly.

"No," Chuck replied. "You love this, you'd resent me, and… are we there?"

"I don't know, are we?" Sarah asked. "You know I don't have the first clue." She ran her hand through her hair. "God, this is a _mess_."

"Okay, okay," Chuck said, walking towards her and pulling her into a hug. "Let's start with something simple, because I think we're blowing some things out of proportion."

"I'd cut my hair for you," she muttered into his shoulder, and then she pulled away to look him in the eyes, seeing a growing grin on his face.

"I'd sell my pocket watch for you," Chuck countered.

"I don't want to quit doing what I'm doing."

"Sarah, I would never ask you to," Chuck promised. "My God, seeing you out there, it's… it's sexy as hell." Sarah blushed and ducked her head. "But you look so freaking free and happy, I would never ask you to give up something you love… because I was asked to… once… and it sucked."

"What?" Sarah watched his face.

"I mean… it made me a lot of money, but…"

"You hate it," she said, seeing it clearly.

"Cybersecurity is just not my thing," Chuck said, shrugging. "I mean… I'm good at it, but…"

"It's not your passion," Sarah finished for him.

"God, you get me," Chuck said, his smile growing wide.

"So, Jill made you give up… what?" She watched as he looked away. She put her hand on his chin and turned it toward her. "Hey, I want to know."

"Educational video games," Chuck said, shrugging. Sarah shook her head. "What did I do?"

"You keep proving me wrong," she replied. "Each time I think I can't fall for my boyfriend any more, he proves me wrong." He ducked his head, making her smile. "So, do it."

"I am," Chuck replied. "I'm working now, and have been for a while, before this vacation began, on handing over the majority of the day-to-day operations of my business to others in my company. I want to do what I love."

"I do to," Sarah said. "I love skiing, and damnit, I'm good at what I do. I save lives, Chuck."

"Like my sister and my brother," Chuck said, nodding in understanding. He took her hands in his. "Sarah, I know you, and I have said no regrets, so I have to ask you this."

"Okay," she replied.

"Do you think we can try to make this work after my vacation's over?"

She looked at him and watched the hope in his eyes, those soulful brown eyes. "No, Chuck," she replied. She watched his head fall. "Do. Or do not. There is no try."

His head popped up, a hopeful look on his face. "Really?"

"Mmmhmm," she hummed.

"I mean, are you trying to seduce me with Yoda-isms, or what?"

"I didn't think I'd need to try that hard." He pulled her against him. "So, I'm going to have to look for employment somewhere else."

"Okay," he replied.

"That's it?" she asked, pulling back and searching his face. He shrugged. "I swear Chuck, since we started dating exclusively, I question how much you put into this."

"I mean, what would you like me to disagree with you about?" he asked. She gave him a quick kiss. "Would you like me to be there with you tomorrow?"

"Yes… and tonight," she added.

"Do you have any clothes to wear?" Sarah gave him a smile, dropped his hands, and turned toward his bedroom. "Oh." He thought for a second. "_Oh_!" and he hurried after her.

}o{

Sarah stopped right in front of the ski lodge the next morning. This was it. She was going inside, pack her stuff, and leave. She glanced over at Chuck. "I need you to know something."

"What's that?" Chuck asked.

"Worth it," Sarah said, winking at him.

Chuck's face lit up with a smile when a hand slammed down on his shoulder, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"It ain't your fault we have an asshole for a boss, String Bean," Casey said.

"You should really consider writing Hallmark Cards in your next career," Chuck replied. Casey grunted and pushed past them, going inside. Gertrude winked at Chuck.

"I think he likes you," she said. Chuck laughed and turned to Sarah, once they were alone. He took her hands, not saying anything, and just gave her a soft smile.

"Think I can find a job someplace else because I went boy crazy and let a civilian on that night run?" She was grinning at him.

"Lucky bastard," he replied. She pulled him to her. "Wherever you go, we'll figure it out."

"The upside is, I can _really_ concentrate on my boyfriend the next few days." Chuck's mind froze. If she hadn't _really_ been concentrating on him, then what the hell would that look like? She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "I was still on call if something goes wrong, but with me now fired…" She trailed off with a slight shrug.

"Superheroes… got be ready 24/7," Chuck replied. She squeezed his hands. "You ready?" She nodded and led him inside. Lon was there, looking smug as ever.

"Mr. Bartowski, good to see you," he said, extending his hand.

Chuck eyed the extended hand and looked up at Lon. "You know, you're a pompous ass that no one cares about." Lon blinked as Chuck walked by him, Sarah on his arm, chuckling. She gathered her things, turned and headed outside of the patrol room when a man burst into the lodge.

"You've got to help us!" the man said. "My daughter, she's missing on that hill."

"Mr. Volkoff?" Lon said, his eyes going wide. "Where is Vivian?"

"I don't know, you dolt," Alexi growled.

"Mr. Volkoff, how old is your daughter?" Sarah asked.

"It's none of your concern, you're not with Ski Patrol any longer," Lon snapped.

"She's twelve," Alexi said, talking to Sarah and ignoring Lon.

Lon shook his head and got on the walkie-talkie, yelling for everyone to drop what they were doing and get to the lodge ASAP. Within minutes, the entire Ski Patrol was assembled in the room facing Kirk. Casey and Sarah moved to the back of the room, feeling out of place and not wanting to cause a scene. They both knew saving the girl's life was the most important thing. Sarah watched Casey grow more uncomfortable in their current situation, and as she saw Casey start to leave, she grabbed his arm. He looked from Sarah to Gertrude, who made eye contact, and nodded.

Lon Kirk moved to the front of the room. "We've got an intermediate skier missing on the Alpine Bowl in Alpine Meadows. I want everyone out there now looking for her. Move!"

The assembled Ski Patrol members looked confused, with Skip finally raising his hand. "But, sir..."

Lon Kirk marched up to Skip, getting right in his face, and shouted, "I said move!" He turned and pointed to Sarah, Chuck, Casey and Gertrude. "Or do the rest of you want to join Mr. Casey and Ms. Walker on the unemployment line?"

The Ski Patrol turned as one to look to Casey and Sarah for instruction, but it was Emmitt Milbarge who stepped in. "You heard Mr. Kirk. Move!" He then started assigning patrol members to different runs on the Alpine Bowl to begin the search, even though Milbarge himself had never passed the qualification test for Ski Patrol. The patrol members looked lost themselves, as they headed out in search of the missing child. Milbarge headed off to the offices with Kirk to create an operations center.

"That clown," Casey sneered. At Chuck's confused expression, Casey clarified. "They don't have a name, an age, her physical description, what she's wearing. Nothing. They are blindly heading out to search the whole bowl, with no idea of what they are supposed to be looking for."

"Is your daughter really an intermediate skier?" Sarah asked. She could see Alexi getting upset and held up her hands. "Sir, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to speak bad about your daughter. But tell me, what sense does it make that she got lost on an intermediate trail?"

She saw Alexi's face go pale and Sarah silently cursed herself. "I'm confused," Chuck said.

"If she went left off the lift, instead of right," Casey began, but stopped, seeing the looks on her father's face. "She was with you, right?" Alexi looked away. "Christ," Casey muttered. "If she's on the Upper Saddle…"

"Mr. Volkoff, you have two of the absolute best here to help you find her," Chuck said. Casey and Sarah stared at Chuck. Gertrude just grinned.

"Then why are they standing there?" Alexi asked.

"Well, Lon kinda fired them for taking me on a special run down the mountain," Chuck explained. "He's one of those that worries about being sued, but I assured him I would never sue. I had the time of my life, and never felt safer."

"Please, help me find my daughter," Alexi pleaded. Sarah looked at Chuck.

"It's okay, go be a superhero," he said, grinning at her.

"Bartowski, you're a pain in the ass," Casey said. "But, you're a good man." Casey turned to Alexi. "We'll do it."

"What about Lon?" Sarah asked.

"What's he gonna do, fire you again?" Chuck asked her. She turned to him, trying to hide the grin. "Yell at you for skiing? Hell, I'll make sure I buy you a ticket."

"I'll handle that pissant Kirk," Volkoff said. "Please. Please find my daughter."

Sarah took a deep breath and grinned at Casey. "I'm going to need a description."

Volkoff began to describe his daughter as Gertrude approached them, their go-bags in hand. "I had a feeling that the two of you wouldn't stay away. Go, find the girl."

Sarah nodded to Gertrude, and turned back to Volkoff. "We'll go check the Upper Saddle, Mr. Volkoff. If she's there, we'll find her." Chuck slipped an arm around her. "He's right," she said, tilting her head toward Chuck. "We are the best."

}o{

Casey and Sarah took the lift up to Alpine Bowl, then hiked to Upper Saddle. On the way up, they decided to divide and conquer. They had found Big Mike, and told him what they were doing. He told them to call as soon as they found her, for evac. Casey headed down Keyhole trail to Lower Saddle, while Sarah cut through woods, with the plan to meet up at Palisades.

As Sarah made her way down the hill she encountered deep powder from the Christmas Eve storm. There were only a few ski marks, one of which was straight; that meant that even in the deep powder, the skier was going way too fast. She continued to ski, following what few tracks there were, and eventually broke out on to the Palisades trail. She pulled up, seeing Casey forty yards further downhill on Palisades.

"Find anything, Walker?" he yelled. Sarah shook her head, but then paused.

"Hang on," she yelled back. She scanned where the straight marks entered Palisades, but the amount of skiers on the more popular trail made it difficult to track. She peered across at the far tree line of the trail and saw a broken pine bow. "Over here Casey. I think I've got something."

She heard him mumble, "Christ," but he quickly made his way across and up the trail. Sarah popped off her skis and entered the thick woods where she saw the broken branch. She heard him right behind her, as she came upon the young woman lying in the snow.

"Vivian," she said, crouching down in the snow. There was no response. She pulled off her glove, checked her pulse point and then put her hand under her nostrils to feel for breath.

"How is she, Walker?" Casey asked.

"She's unconscious, Casey, and she's looking dangerously pale," Sarah replied. "I don't see any blood, but I have no idea what she looks like inside.

"Damnit, I hate it when kids get hurt," Casey muttered.

Sarah pulled out her radio "Big Mike."

"I hear you Walker," he responded.

"Need that medevac chopper ASAP!"

"Copy that," Mike replied. Sarah read off their GPS coordinates as Casey gently put on a neck brace on Vivian. Sarah put up the radio, and they unfolded a portable backboard from the SAR kit. They got it under her, and carefully made their way out of the trees and onto Palisades trail. In the distance they could already hear the sound of the approaching helicopter.

The chopper landed, the door whipped open, and she saw two familiar faces. "Vivian is unconscious, no signs of anything broken, but I'm not crazy about her color," Sarah told the two approaching doctors.

Ellie opened one of Vivian's eyes. "Lets get her out of here and warmed up," Devon boomed. "We'll take her straight to the hospital. Chuck and Alexi are already on their way!" Sarah nodded, and they carefully loaded Vivian, and then themselves, onto the chopper.

}o{

Chuck was sitting in the waiting area with Alexi, as they pushed Vivian in on a gurney. "Is she okay?" Alexi asked, jumping out of his seat. Chuck stood up with him.

"Alexi, that's my sister, the best brain surgeon in California, and her fiancé, the best cardiothoracic surgeon in California. You have nothing to worry about," Chuck said, trying to calm him.

"How can you know that?" Alexi asked, spinning toward him.

"Because they're family, and because they are amazing at their jobs. And because if we don't trust them, then all we're gonna do is make ourselves sick with worry. Which does nothing for Vivian."

Alexi nodded his head. "That's true," he admitted.

"Mr. Volkoff," came the booming voice of Awesome. Alexi turned toward him. "We're gonna get your daughter's temperature back up. My fiancé is gonna make sure nothing's wrong with her noggin', and we'll get you in to see her as soon as we can, okay?"

"Thank you," Alexi said, grabbing Awesome's hand and pumping it. "You've saved her life."

"Sir, Sarah and Casey did that," Devon admitted.

"Actually, Walker did," Casey said, coming up and hearing the conversation. "She figured out what went wrong. That idiot Lon is still on the wrong part of the mountain looking for her."

"No, he's on his way," Chuck informed Casey.

"I better get out of here," Casey said.

"Wait, please," Alexi said. "I think there's something you and Miss Walker will want to hear." Alexi gave a grin that if he had been a villain, one would call it diabolical. He saw Sarah come back from where she had gone with Vivian and the doctors. "Miss Walker!" Alexi called out.

"That's my girlfriend," Chuck said, proud as a peacock.

"Christ," Casey mumbled, but the look on his face wasn't one of disgust.

"Thank you, Miss Walker," Alexi began. He glanced over at Chuck. "Or should I say Chuck's girlfriend."

"Please, I'm Sarah, and this is _my_ boyfriend, Chuck," she said, watching his face beam when she called him that.

"Did you hear that," he said, leaning in to Alexi. "I'm _her_ boyfriend."

Alexi chuckled. "You have my congratulations, or condolences… your choice."

"Hey," Chuck responded, but with a grin on his face as Sarah chuckled.

"Thanks, probably both," she said grinning at Chuck, and swinging her elbow wide, hitting him gently.

"I swear if I see you two on the slopes again," Lon began as he came through the door, seeing Sarah and Casey.

"Mr. Kirk," Alexi said, drawing up, his voice… dangerous. Lon stopped in his tracks and visibly gulped. "From what it sounds like you're saying, you would rather my child be dead than have the two most experienced members of the Ski Patrol search for her?" Lon began to stammer. Alexi continued on. "Or is it the fact that your employees didn't find her, and the two who you were foolish enough to fire found her, has left you…" he paused and turned to Chuck. "What's the phrase I'm looking for?"

"Butthurt," Chuck offered. Alexi nodded and turned back to Lon.

"Butthurt," Alexi finished. Lon was turning red. "But, before you say a word, I'd like you to know that I do love your facility… just not with you running it." He reached over and clapped Chuck on the shoulder. "Charles and I were having a nice little talk, and we think someone new should be in charge." Casey's and Sarah's eyes went wide, and they exchanged a look. Neither of them needed to be in charge. "So, I bought out all of the members of your group, and I own 70% interest… unless you'd like to sell out, as well?"

"Who's in charge?" Lon managed to get out.

"Me," Gertrude said, walking up behind everyone. Casey's mouth dropped. "Oh, shut it, Casey. You've always known I'm in charge." Chuck and Sarah's eyebrows about shot off their foreheads. Casey shrugged, and Chuck needed brain bleach.

"Leave, Mr. Kirk," Alexi said softly but very firmly.

"But," Kirk began. Alexi never said a word, he just drew up and set his jaw. "May I pack tonight and leave in the morning?"

"Probably best, Mr. Volkoff," Sarah said. Alexi turned to her. "The roads seem slicker at night."

Volkoff nodded to her. "See, Miss Walker knows all sorts of things, that's why she's staying and you're not. Now _go_!" Lon scampered away.

"Thank you," Chuck said to Alexi.

Alexi looked at them all. "You all were instrumental in saving my daughter. How could I do anything less?"

"Mr. Volkoff," Ellie said. "She's awake."

"Excuse me," Alexi said, heading toward his daughter's room.

"'Ya did good, Chuck," Sarah said, pulling him into a hug.

"Nah, I got to watch my superhero girlfriend save a life," Chuck replied. "I was kinda selfish."

"So, do I have any type of special discipline?" Casey asked Gertrude. Chuck gagged a little, and he and Sarah fled.

"You are terrible," Gertrude said.

"You like it," Casey replied, as he turned to walk away. Gertrude slapped him on the backside. Casey high stepped but never stopped walking.

"I hate for you to leave but I love watching you walk away," Gertrude said.

* * *

A/N: Even I question me at this point. Like, look at this preview...

_"What do you say you try a night with a real man," Lester begins._

_"Sure, you find me a single, real man, and I'm all for it," Zondra retorts. Lester puts his hand to his his heart. "What, was I not blunt enough for you." Lester moves toward her and Zondra stands up. "Listen, ya freak. If you don't leave me alone, I am going to tie you up like a ball and kick your ass out the door."_

_"So your saying there's a chance?" Lester asks. Zondra growls and Casey has to get between the two of them._

*rolls eyes at myself*

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	9. Ch 9, Break In

A/N: One more chapter after this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

Sarah awoke to find herself alone. She looked all around the small room, and there was only one answer – he was gone. She looked around the room, feeling the loss of him. Jumping up, she pulled on her clothes, and raced out the door. "I'm going after Chuck, I can't let him leave!" She yelled at her mom as she bolted out the door.

The bathroom door opened, and Chuck walked out, looking confused. Emma glanced at him. "Are you gonna tell her, or am I?"

Sarah raced to her car and was determined to catch Chuck, Ellie, and Devon as they began their trip back to Burbank. Her phone rang, and she answered it.

"Sarah, what are you doing?" Chuck asked.

"Chuck, I'm following you," Sarah began. "I need you to know I don't want you to leave, or can we still find a way to see each other?"

"Sarah, we said we were going to find a way to make it work," Chuck began.

"I know, but we didn't work out specifics, and, God... Chuck... I didn't tell you."

"What didn't you tell me?" Chuck asked.

"I didn't... I didn't tell you..." Sarah began. Why couldn't she tell him how she felt? Why was is so hard to put it into words? She loved him. It had happened quick, but it was the truth.

"Chuck." She took a deep breath, and the words that came out were not the ones she meant to say. "Chuck, I need you in my life."

"Then why are you driving away from me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sarah, I'm at your apartment. It's the day after Christmas." Sarah pulled the car over and laid her head on the steering wheel. It wasn't New Year's Day, as she feared. He was at her place. He was at… her home.

}o{

When she got back to her place, Chuck was on the phone, pacing, and looking frustrated.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"After he got off the phone with you, a call came in, and he's been talking ever since. Apparently, it's something big," Emma told her.

"Let me call you back," they heard Chuck say. "I'm not near my laptop." He listened for a second. "Because I am on vacation, but this needs to get done ASAP," he said, his gaze on Sarah. "Yes, I'm serious. Talk to you soon." He hung up and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. "You need to know I would never leave, and not tell you."

"I woke up, thought it was New Year's Day, and you..." she trailed off, pulling him closer.

"Sarah, I would never just leave," Chuck assured her. "But that being said..."

"Is everything okay?" Sarah asked, remembering the phone call. She pulled away, so she could watch him.

"It's big, but good," Chuck replied. "I'm really-"

"Shh," she said, smiling. "We are going to work this out, right?"

"Absolutely." His smile could have lit up the room, and Sarah found herself ducking her head, looking shy. "This could take all day."

"That works out fine," Emma butted in. "We have a girls' day kind of planned anyway, but we'll let you join if you get done." Emma gave Chuck a wink.

"Well, I'll wear my best heels if I get done," he said, putting his fists on his hips, and nodding at her. Sarah giggled, and both Chuck and Emma turned to her. She pressed her lips together and widened her eyes in surprise. Chuck leaned down and kissed her gently. "I've gotta go, but we will talk later." Sarah nodded. "I mean it," and with that, he was gone.

"Giggling?" Emma asked, amused.

"I hate you," Sarah muttered, walking back to her room.

"You need to tell him how you really feel," Emma called after her. Sarah knew Emma was right, but didn't know how to actually accomplish that.

}o{

Sarah went to bed by herself, with Chuck still on the phone doing whatever it was he was doing. She stopped by around nine the next morning to see Chuck, but he was still asleep.

"Listen, just go on in," Ellie said. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind." The grin on Ellie's face was one of a troublemaker. Sarah was liking Ellie more and more each day.

"Ellie," Sarah began. "Do you think…" she trailed off. "Never mind."

"Oh, no, Sarah Walker," Ellie said, dragging her over to the couch. "You don't get to begin something like that and then trail off."

Sarah sat there a second, took a deep breath, placed her hands on her thighs, and looked at Ellie. "Do you think we can make this work?" A slow smile grew on Ellie's face. "Please, Ellie, tell me whatever it is you're thinking."

"I think… _I_think you two need to talk about what you _really_ want." Sarah just sat there as Ellie looked up. "In fact," she said, her own voice trailing off, "I need to hit the slopes with Devon." Ellie stood, and Sarah turned to see Chuck standing there.

He looked like he just woke up, his hair a crazy nest, his eyes half-closed from the tiredness. She patted the spot on the sofa next to her. He padded over and sat down, laying his head straight back on the sofa.

"Long night?" she asked.

"Yeah, but good," Chuck replied. "We need to talk."

"Oh," Sarah said, fear gripping her heart. Here it came. This was where he was going to tell her it wasn't going to work. This was where he was going to say he couldn't leave his home.

"I'm selling part of Bartech, the owner's share actually," he said, head still back on the couch. Sarah's eyes went wide. "I'm tired of working myself to death." He brought his head forward and looked at her. "The day I got here, the peace, the quiet, the serenity…"

"It is kinda magical," Sarah agreed.

"I need this, Sarah," he said, letting out a sigh that sounded like it comforted his soul. "I'm just tired of doing… well, what I was doing. I had become _The Guy_. I had become the person that ran the company, when all I wanted to be was a guy who created software, video games, fun stuff. Not pushing paper."

"So that's why you sold it?" she asked, fear creeping into her.

"Sarah, this has been a long time coming," he said, turning toward her, and taking her hand. "I need you to understand, this is something I need, if you were in my life or not. And… and you are in my life, if you will be."

She swallowed and nodded. "I will," she said softly. "I love you." Chuck's mouth dropped.

"Let me say this again," she said, watching tears drop down his face. "Somewhere between watching you fall on your face in front of a bunch of kids, and me wrapping my arms around you as you skied down that hill, I fell in love with you." She took his hands. "Not some idea of you, not what I thought you should be or could be, but you, Chuck Bartowski. And frankly, I haven't known what to do with all of that for some time."

"I love you," he choked out. "You… you love… _me_?"

Sarah nodded, smiling at him. He had to look away before emotions overwhelmed him, but she wasn't having that. She gently took his jaw and turned his head toward her. Tears stained his cheeks.

"I love you, Chuck. Not the idea of you. You." He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in to a bear hug.

"Thank you." Sarah laughed, as he continued, "I know, it's unusual to be thanked for someone loving you, but I think it should be a thing."

"You're always welcome," she replied.

}o{

As much as he hated it, he had more meetings that he promised he would explain to her. The rest of the day were more phone calls, signing of papers, and the turning over of his business.

Sarah awoke to a text the next morning:

_S__ki the green trails with me?_

She grinned at the phone.

_S__ide by side__,__ or me behind you__? _

He didn't answer immediately, and she thought he might have fallen down reading that, which made her grin grow.

A few hours later, when the two of them had made their second run down the mountain, it happened.

They had been skiing together, and Chuck was doing great. While it was no surprise to Sarah, it still shocked Chuck. They came to the bottom of the run and saw them, the seven kids from the class Chuck had been a part of.

Fred spoke up first. "Hey, it's Miss Sarah!"

Chuck chuckled. "Someone has a crush," he whispered into Sarah's ear.

"Yeah, I know, and so does Fred," she whispered just as quietly.

"Huh, shows what _you_ know. I'm full on in _love_," Chuck teased, making Sarah have to bite her bottom lip to not respond.

It was then Curtis realized who was with her. "Wait… is that _Chuck_? No way!"

"Excuse me," Chuck says. "I have a young lady to go talk to."

"She's _way_ too young for you," Sarah retorted.

"But she's more emotionally mature than me," Chuck replied, winking as he skied over to Megan. "Hey there, Ms. Megan. I took your advice to not fall. Well, at least not fall all the time."

Megan looked at Chuck intently, as Sarah skied up to join the group. "Good job Chuck. Maybe you are not like Joe after all."

Chuck looked confused, and glanced around at the other kids. Lisa, taking pity on him, explained the importance of Joe. "She has a special Barbie doll – Spy Barbie," Lisa began. "Spy Barbie dates GI Joe, but he keeps getting caught by the bad guys and Spy Barbie has to save him."

Chuck got a soft smile, before squatting down to Megan's height. "Oh, I'm very much like Joe, then." He glanced up at Sarah and his smile grew. "You see, Sarah saves me every day."

Sarah felt something shift in her belly, and warmth began to spread throughout her body. She gazed at Chuck with a look of fondness. Liz, watching all of this, leaned over with mirth in her eyes. "I thought you said that he wasn't your boyfriend?"

Sarah looked at Liz out of the corner of her eyes and gave a small shrug, a grin on her face. "Times change."

Liz smothered a giggle in her glove. "In four days?"

Sarah focused back on Chuck, with a look of pure love that Liz did not miss. "With the right guy, your whole world can change in just a few days."

Liz stopped giggling, and smiled at Sarah. "Good. I'm glad for you. For the both of you."

Sarah reached over to give Liz a one-armed hug. "Me too, Liz. Me too."

"Sooooo, since we were there at the start, does that mean that we get to be in the wedding party?" Liz asked in a teasing tone.

Sarah shook her head with a groan. "Oh God, not you too?"

"I don't think anyone's suggested we get married," Chuck said. "It was just your-"

"Chuck," Sarah said sharply. She glanced around with a meaningful look. "Children." Chuck nodded, and mimicked zipping his lips. "Like I said, not her too." Chuck grinned at her, and Sarah matched it with one of her own.

"So, we're invited?" Liz asked, and then all the children joined in.

"_If_ we get married, sure," Sarah said, looking at Chuck with a smile.

"Right… _if_," he said, smiling at her.

}o{

Later that night found the two of them in the Last Chair Bar, located in the main lodge. "God, I'd hoped they weren't playing tonight," Sarah groused. Chuck looked up at the small stage set up in the corner where _Jeffster_ was doing a horrible cover of Guano Apes _Lord of the Boards_.

Casey sat there, shaking his head, nursing a beer, scowling. "Why do you let those two assault the eardrums of the skiers?" he asked Gertrude.

"They deserve to live their dream. After all, you're living yours," she says, giving him a significant look. Chuck quickly turned to Sarah, his eyes going wide, taking a swig of his beer as Sarah gave him an amused grin.

"We are going to take a break," Lester said, as they finished their set. "Fear not, people. _Jeffster_ will return!"

Jeff belched, mumbling "I need beer," and the two stumbled over to the bar, leaving their gear in the corner, still plugged in. As they headed to the bar, Lester got side-tracked.

"Dearest, Zondra," he began, coming over to their table. "I notice that your brute is not with you tonight."

"You mean Cole?" she asked, a warning in her tone that Lester completely missed.

"What do you say you try a night with a real man," Lester began.

"Sure… find me a single, real man, and I'm all for it," Zondra retorted, with a pointed glare. Lester put his hand to his heart. "What, was I not blunt enough for you?"

Lester moved toward her and Zondra stood up. "Listen, 'ya freak. If you don't leave me alone, I am going to tie you up like a ball and kick your ass out the door."

"So, your saying there's a chance?" Lester asked. Zondra growled and Casey was forced to get between them.

Chuck was laughing at the two, and shook his head. As he did, he noticed two women across the bar, making their way toward the stage. He tapped Sarah's arm, and nodded toward a woman with long, wavy brown hair, and another woman with raven black hair, that were taking advantage of the distraction. They got up on the stage, and the one with wavy black hair began to play on the piano, and sing into the mike.

_Put your lighter in the air and lead me back home_

_When it's all said and done and follow where the air goes_

_I hear you night after night calling out my name_

_And I'm finding myself running to meet you_

_I didn't want to escape_

_From the bricks that I laid down _

"Come on," Sarah said softly. Chuck thought about objecting, but Sarah wanted to dance with him, so why would he fight it?

"I hope that you realize that between this and your Christmas party, I've danced more with you than in all the years since college combined," Chuck said, smiling at her as they danced.

_You are the only one_

_The only that sees me_

_That trusts me and believes me_

_You are the only one_

_The only one that knows me_

_And in the dark you show me_

_It's perfectly reckless_

_Damn you leave me defenseless_

_So break in_

_Break in_

"My God," she said, tears in her eyes. "It's about you knowing me."

Chuck shook his head. "I was sitting here thinking it was you knowing me," he replied.

"Chuck," she said, her shoulders shaking from chuckling. "Do you think you ever weren't transparent with Jill about what you wanted?"

"Uh," he began.

"Trust me on this, I'm well aware of what you're after. She manipulated and used you."

"Maybe part of me wanted that," Chuck replied.

"Maybe," she said. "Or maybe you just wanted a chance to have your dream."

"I'm moving to Truckee," he blurted out. Sarah stopped dancing and stared at him. "I'm moving here because I need to be away from all that mess."

"Move in with me," she blurted out, and now Chuck couldn't move.

They suddenly noticed everyone around them was applauding. Chuck and Sarah realized the song was over, and turned toward the stage to applaud as well.

"Oh, God," he muttered, nodding his head toward the stage where Lester and Jeff were approaching the women.

"This ought to be spectacularly awful," Sarah said, grinning, and grabbing his hand to pull him close to hear the conversation.

Lester walked toward the ladies, giving them a slow clap. "Ladies, ladies. Trust me, I get it." He spread his hands, and half turned, gesturing toward the crowd. "You see a bar full of people and think, this is your chance at fame. Amateur hour is over. The people here want to hear _Jeffster_. Now, if you like playing our... instruments, I'm sure something can be arranged after our gig ends."

"Lester," Chuck says, getting his attention. "Do you know who they are?"

"No, and I don't care," Lester replied.

"Lzzy…may I call you Lzzy?" Chuck asked. The brunette nodded. "Amy?" The black-haired lady nodded. "Come on, let's get you away from the crazy man."

"You don't recognize talent, Charles," Lester called after him.

"I oughta kill him," Lzzy muttered.

"Please don't, then I can't hear you sing anymore," Chuck replied, grinning. He turned to Sarah. "May I introduce you to Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, and Amy Lee of Evanescence."

"That was really beautiful," Sarah said. I'm sorry about those idiots. Thank you."

Lzzy grinned at her. "I saw you two dancing. I'm glad you liked it. It's nice to see people enjoying the music. But, I also saw you stop. Are you two okay?" Chuck and Sarah shared a look.

"I think so," Chuck replied. "At least I am, and if we're not, then we keep talking." Sarah nodded and took his hand. Chuck turned back to them. "Why are you here? Sorry, sorry, that came out all wrong. It's just... You're Lzzy Hale and you're Amy Lee. Why are you jamming on some crappy gear in the corner of a ski lodge bar? I saw you guys last spring headlining and playing to a full house at The Greek, in LA."

"We just had a gig over at Heavenly," Amy replied.

"My brother had some friends skiing here, so we came over for the day," Lzzy added. "Amy and I tagged along to get away from that scene. Find a spot that's the anti-Cheers."

"Where nobody knows your name," Amy said with a smile. "Except, of course, for you. But we'll make an exception for you."

"We need to get back to Arejay before he has too much Jaeger and thinks that he should give the halfpipe a shot," Lzzy said. She and Amy begin to leave, when Lzzy stopped. "You're Sarah Walker," she said, recognition dawning on her. "We're doing a charity event at Heavenly New Year's Eve day… is there any chance we can get you to be there?"

"What charity?" Sarah asked.

"Operation Smile," Amy replied.

"Can I bring him?" Sarah asked.

"We just about insist," Lzzy said. See you guys in a couple of days." And with that, they were gone.

"Who's Halestorm?" Sarah asked, watching them leave. Chuck just looked up at the ceiling, mock sighing. Sarah tickled his stomach, making him giggle.

He was moving here, and she had asked him to move in. Was she ready for this?

* * *

A/N: Want to hear the song? Go to youtube, type in Lzzy Hale Amy Lee Break in. It's freaking beautiful.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


	10. Ch 10, New Home

A/N: This is the last chapter. I'm not sure I gave it the best ending, but I tried. I wrote this along the time my health scare began, so I'm not sure it's the best it can be, but I tried. I'm still trying to figure things out. I've has a ton of support on this and I can't thank you guys enough. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, or however you celebrate.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck

* * *

"Do you not want to move in with me?" came the voice beside him.

The two had spent the night together at Sarah's, and Chuck found himself that morning looking at the ceiling. He was thinking how his life had changed so much in such a short time. Looking over at her, he saw her there, vulnerable, scared, worried. The lyrics jumped into his head:

_Y__ou let me fall apart without letting go. Then you pick up the pieces and you make me whole_

"Sarah, I don't want to rush you, I don't want you to react based on my actions, and I just worry that you said what you said because you thought you should," Chuck began. "Given how my last relationship ended, I hope you can appreciate why I would worry about that."

Sarah nodded.

"But, God, yes, I'd love nothing more than to wake up and see your face every morning." A smile grew across her face.

"I want this, us," she said taking his hand. She cleared her throat. "Chuck… I need to ask you something."

"Okay," he replied, a little concerned.

"It's nothing bad, but do you remember when you said how I looked on Christmas Eve night?"

Chuck nodded. "Yeah, that was a good night."

She grinned salaciously, leaned over, and kissed his bare shoulder. "Such a good night." Chuck leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away, making Chuck raise an eyebrow. "I know you, and if you start kissing me, I'll kiss back, and that will lead to things."

"So, you admit you have no control around me," Chuck asked, teasing.

Her face went serious, but playful, as she ducked her head a little, but looked at him through her lashes. "None," she said, in a voice that was nearly a whisper. "For a long time… for a long time I've been in control of everything… until I met you."

"I'm sorry?" Chuck replied, looking confused. "Or should I not be."

She cleared her throat. "You shouldn't be… okay, so… that night on the mountain, you said something about… about how I looked different than when I was competing."

"Yeah, you looked as though you would bend the mountain to your will to go as fast as possible in a competition." A slight blush came to her face, but she didn't deny it. "But… but when we skied the Christmas lights-"

"They're actually New Year's Eve lights," she corrected him. "We just tested them that night."

"And I am so glad we did," he replied, looking into her eyes. Sarah thought she might melt from the heat she saw in them. He cleared his throat, bringing them both back to the present. "When we were skiing the New Year's Eve lights, you looked in sync with the mountain, taking joy in going where the mountain wanted to take you. You looked at peace, you looked… free."

Sarah nodded. "I kept thinking about a line from that song last night." And then she shocked him. She began to sing. _"You are, the only one, the only one that sees me, trusts me and believes me."_

Chuck's mouth had dropped, and he looked at her in awe. "I think _my_ ovaries just exploded." Sarah snorted from laughter. "Great, get me to move in with you before I find out you snort." That brought on another round, as she rolled on the bed, her tongue sticking out between her teeth. Chuck just watched her, admiration covering his face. "You've never been this free with anyone else?"

She shook her head. "You?"

That made Chuck snort. "Are you kidding me? Jill's idea of cuddling was grabbing her pillow and turning her back to me, when she _did_ stay."

"I don't know if I ever did stay," Sarah admitted softly. "I don't know if I trusted anyone to be in that vulnerable of a spot."

He reached over and laced his fingers through hers. "Thank you for trusting me."

"Thank you for being trustworthy." The two lay there for a minute, enjoying the company, and not minding the silence. "Is it okay for me to ask who you sold your company to?"

Chuck just grinned. "Volkoff."

}o{

They spent the day together skiing, and talking about what to do about Chuck's stuff, which got them talking about maybe they needed their own place. It was at that time Chuck realized he hadn't actually _told_ his sister what was about to happen.

Chuck stayed at Sarah's again, but woke in the morning to a text telling him that he and the Walkers were all invited to dinner that night. Chuck didn't feel it was so much an invite as much as a summons.

They had been in the kitchen talking, when Sarah led Chuck out into the hallway. "You need to tell her," Sarah said, laughing at her boyfriend's predicament. "_Or_, I can."

"God, no," Chuck said, spinning and guiding her further away, while she laughed at him. "No, no, no, I need to do this." He paused and gave her a funny look. "Hey, you know this is nothing to do with you, and everything to do with my insecurity and fear of my sister's wrath."

"First, there won't be any wrath by your sister," Sarah assured him, rubbing his arm with her hand. "Secondly, I do know, but the reassurance is appreciated."

"She loves you," Chuck insisted. "Not the same way I do, but she does." Sarah grinned at him.

"You two okay?" Ellie asked, coming around the corner and seeing them. "I mean, I know soon… never mind," she said waving her hand. "We won't talk about leaving."

"I'm staying, sis. I sold the majority of the company," Chuck told her, holding Sarah's hand.

"I love him Ellie," Sarah said softly, making Ellie's eyes go wide. "But I love what I do, and I can't take that with me."

"And I can," Chuck jumped in, making Ellie turn. "Ellie, I love her, and she loves me for me… even if I tell bad jokes."

"Chuck, don't," Ellie began.

"Do you know the answer to the song, _How Do You Talk to an Angel?"_ Chuck asked.

"Chuck, don't, you'll run her off," Ellie protested.

"I don't know," Sarah replied, mirth on her face.

"Halo," Chuck said. Sarah snorted.

"Oh, God, not you too," Ellie said, smiling and crying.

"Ellie, I promise in the summer, we'll come visit, a lot," Sarah reassured her.

Ellie waved her hand at that, and pulled them both into a huge bear hug. "Thank you, Sarah. Thank you."

"My pleasure, Ellie. Seriously, my pleasure."

}o{

"So, we'll move out," Emma began as soon as dinner was over.

"No, you can't," Sarah protested.

"Fine, you can go," Emma countered.

"It's my house." She turned to Chuck. "Chuck, tell them, it's mine."

"Do you want Molly to have to find a new bedroom?" he asked.

She turned away from him, a slight pout on her face. "That was low," she muttered. "Now I have to go and find somewhere to live."

"Uh…" Chuck began, as he glanced around the table. "I have a place."

"Yes, in Echo Park, but that's not helping the situation," Ellie said, giving him a pointed look. Her eyes grew big as she saw his grin. "Chuck, what did you do?"

}o{

The next morning saw Chuck and Sarah looking over Chuck's new place. "As part of Volkoff buying me out, this place was part of the deal." He glanced over at her, as she was looking into the bathroom. She made a sound, similar to the one he had made when he saw the waterfall full shower with four shower heads. "So, I haven't signed the papers on this, and if you don't like it…" he trailed off and shrugged.

"Chuck, you can't just let me own half of this," Sarah told him.

"Why not, you own all of my heart," he countered. She stared at him. "Too cheesy?"

"No, just right."

}o{

"Here," Chuck said. It was New Year's Eve day, and the two were at Heavenly, waiting for the charity event to begin. He had a cup in his hand, offering it to her. "It's hot chocolate. I nearly drank yours by mistake, and that would mean it would then be mine."

Sarah took the drink from him, took a sip and gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows that if you take a bite out of food, or lick a piece of food, in your instance hot chocolate, it then belongs to the person who bit it or licked it," Chuck explained. "I don't make the rules, baby, I just explain them."

"That's the rule huh?" she asked. Chuck nodded. "Baby?" Chuck's face began to turn red, and she couldn't resist herself. She lifted up on her tiptoes, and licked the side of his face.

"What the hell?" Chuck asked, wondering what was going on.

Sarah shrugged, a gleam in her eye. "Those are the rules… baby. Once you lick something, it's forever yours." Chuck stood there as she walked over to where she was getting ready for the event.

"I'm hers, forever," he muttered, grinning. Chuck went over to her tent where she was putting on her skis. "Hey," he said, making her look up. "I love you."

"I love you," she said.

"So, I'm yours… forever?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" The look she gave him, it was one-part fear, one-part hope.

"No, no problem," he replied, slowly shaking his head. The look of fear left, and so did hope. What was left was a happiness and certainty Chuck had only seen on her face when she was skiing. Something in him melted, and he realized what it was. His fear had left him, as well. She loved him.

Sarah Walker loved Chuck for himself. Not because he was a tech wiz, not because he had money, not because of any other reason except he was Chuck Bartowski. She had given him the Christmas gift he had always wanted: She loved him for him.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, a smirk on her face.

"Baby, I'm perfect," he replied. She nodded, began to ski past him, and paused. She reached up, and booped him on the nose.

"Boop," she said softly. She had done that to Bryce once, when she was feeling playful. She was about to go out and compete, he wasn't, and he reacted like she had broken his concentration. Chuck… Chuck had a smile grow on his face that showed all of his teeth.

"Feel free to boop me any time you need," he said softly. "On the nose that is, for luck, or whatever."

She couldn't help herself, she felt so happy for the first time that she could remember. "And what if I don't want to boop you just on the nose?"

Chuck's eyes went wide, and he glanced around making sure no one was too close. "I mean, if you do that in public we might get arrested." He leaned down as if to kiss her and then quickly moved to the side of her face, licking it as she squealed. "I guess that means your mine forever, as well."

"Promise?" She asked. He nodded, and she gave him a quick kiss. Sarah winked at him and slid out of the tent. She had never felt so excited and loved all at the same time. Sarah didn't know exactly how to be a girlfriend, but she was sure she could figure out how to be what Chuck needed.

}o{

She stood at the medal ceremony, beaming. She knew she would win first place, but it was so much fun to just ski. If she had come in last, no big deal.

She saw Chuck in the crowd, waving at her, and she winked at him. The announcer got on the mic, and she turned to listen to him.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to thank all of you for your support of Operation Smile," the man in the UK sweatshirt and hat began. "I need to make a special announcement." Sarah just happened to look into the crowd at that moment, and caught Chuck swallowing, not even looking in her direction. "Someone has been kind enough to match dollar-for-dollar all donations to Operation Smile raised by this event. They requested anonymity, but can I say, _thank you_!" The crowd roared, and Chuck was standing there clapping, looking… uncomfortable.

The award ceremony ended, and she heard him behind her. "You were amazing on those slopes." She spun around, and there stood Chuck with a look she could only call adoration on his face. "That was so awesome, Sarah. Just awesome."

"Thank you," she replied, with a tip of the head and a bit of a blush on her face. "Do you know what I think is really awesome though?"

"What's that?" Chuck asked, falling into her trap.

"The mysterious donor," she said. "I mean… that's just a great guy or woman."

"I mean… if someone had that kind of money, I suspect he… or she… would think that's the very least they could do," Chuck countered.

Sarah reached up and grabbed his coat with one hand. "Chuck, I think we need an agreement on something."

"What's that?" he asked, his voice threatening to go up an octave.

"You and I have to tell each other the truth for this to work," she said, looking him in the eye. "We were both in relationships, where our partners, and ourselves, didn't tell the whole truth. We need to face those truths, as ugly as they may be."

"No secrets, no lies?" Chuck offered. Sarah nodded. "I used the money from the sale of BarTech to make the donation.

"Whoa, hold up," Sarah said. "It's your money, not ours." Chuck shrugged. "I mean, it's not like we're married… yet." Chuck's head jerked up at that. "Furthermore, _you_ gave money to help needy children around the world who might die without these surgeries. If there is anybody here who is an expert on superheroes, it is _this_ guy. And you are a hero. Again."

She pulled him in for a searing kiss. Chuck's mind was reeling. Married… yet? He grinned into the kiss, and could care less who saw them.

}o{

Chuck and Sarah had everyone over to their new place for New Year's Eve Night. Chuck and Sarah were constantly pulling the other to the living room floor to dance. Chuck at one point heard something muttered by Ellie to Emma about a summer wedding.

"I love you," Sarah said softly, sticking a finger in his chest as they swayed to the music.

"I love you," he replied, bending down and rubbing her nose with his.

"That could be considered a wedding vow in some places, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah said, grinning.

"Do I have to change my last name?"

"Nah," Sarah replied, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hey," Chuck said softly, making her lift his head. "I had been waiting on this to get here," he began. She noticed he looked a little nervous. He walked over to a shelf and pulled out a small box from behind some books that must have come with the place, because she didn't know when he would have had time to go buy them.

"What did you do?" she asked, an eyebrow raised teasingly. He held out the box to her. She took it, opened it, and gasped.

"It was my mother's," he said softly.

"Chuck, this is something that deserves to be kept in the family," Sarah said, touched that he would give her something like this.

"I know," he replied. Her head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Sarah, you're family."

"Put it on me, please?" she asked, holding out her wrist, her eyes watery. Chuck clasped it on, and they were hit by a brunette blur.

"Welcome to the family," Ellie said, holding on to them both.

Emma came up and hugged Chuck. "Welcome to the family."

"AWESOME!" Devon boomed. "It's almost midnight!"

As the countdown began, and Auld Lang Syne played, Chuck kissed Sarah. "Here's to us this year," Chuck said softly.

"And the next, and the next," Sarah said, peppering him with kisses as she spoke. "Thanks for taking my ski class."

"My pleasure."

"Admit it, you were totally crushing on your teacher."

"Not as much as my teacher was crushing on me," Chuck retorted. Sarah snorted, and Chuck pulled her close. He looked over at Ellie. "Thank you," he mouthed. She smiled at him, as he laid his head on top of Sarah's.

"You know I could have taught him how to ski, right?" Devon asked, grinning.

"I could have," Ellie replied, with her own grin. "Seems like staying out of it was the best thing we could do." She looked over at Chuck. "I'm going to miss him, but it's time."

"It is," Devon agreed. "Maybe it's time for us to think about _our_ future." Ellie turned to him as he dropped to one knee and her jaw dropped. "Ellie, will you marry me?"

"YES!" She squealed.

Chuck listened for the sound of an avalanche, but heard none. He joined in the celebration, amazed at what a difference less than two weeks made.

* * *

A/N: In case you're wondering, yes, that was Kentucky Dave (no not me, and I don't "know" him although we have spoken on social media several times) as the MC at the event. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you Dillwg for all the help, thank you MySongStory and Joe Watkins for looking over it, and to my beta, thank you brother. Your help means the world to me. More soon, watch these boards.

Also, if you enjoy fanfic, come on over to the Chuck Fanfiction private group, where we talk about everything fanfiction related, I make a stupid amount of polls, and Joe and I argue about which Christmas movie is better. When you click the button there are three questions, please answer them. I'm the one who approves a lot of the requests so I have to know it's a real person, and not some bot. See you soon here and/or on the Facebook page.


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